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Cubs land USC's Prior with No. 2 pick
Updated: Wednesday June 06, 2001 4:08 AM
CHICAGO (AP) -- The thought of being in the same rotation as Kerry Wood is simply "mindboggling." Wearing the same uniform as Sammy Sosa and playing at Wrigley Field? It's all a little overwhelming for Mark Prior, the right-hander out of Southern California who was taken by the Chicago Cubs with the second pick of the baseball draft Tuesday. "I know it's going to hit me hard tonight when I sit down and think I'm going to be a Chicago Cub and I might have the opportunity to play in Wrigley Field," Prior said. "It's pretty special." Touted by Baseball America as possibly "the best college pitcher ever," Prior was 14-1 with a 1.50 ERA this season. He set school and Pac-10 records with 189 strikeouts, and allowed 17 walks and four homers in 131 2-3 innings. He had one four-start span this year in which he struck out 86 and walked none in 57 innings. "He's got probably the best college command I've seen in the past 10 years," said Cubs scouting director John Stockstill. "We felt Kerry Wood was a can't-miss. Turns out he was. We feel Prior's close to that." Prior knew he'd go high in the draft, and had some discussions with Minnesota, which had the No. 1 pick. But the Twins instead chose local product Joe Mauer, a high school catcher. "I didn't really have much of a reaction because I really didn't know what to expect," Prior said of Minnesota's pick. "I think Chicago's a good fit for me. I've grown up watching them and have always been a fan." While some scouts think Prior is ready to jump right to the majors, the Cubs will likely send him to the minors. And that's fine with Prior. "As far as I'm concerned, I still have a lot of learning to do," he said. "For me to make that jump straight from the college level is far-fetched for me to believe. Hopefully, the learning curve doesn't take too long in the minors and I can jump up there." Prior said he doesn't know what kind of timetable the Cubs have for him. He and the Trojans open the College World Series on Saturday against Georgia, and the Cubs have already told him to focus on that. After that, he'll go home to San Diego and wait for a contract. There's talk he could command a signing bonus of $10 million or more. "They are probably going to want a lot of money, but in the end, we feel we're going to sign him," Stockstill said. Prior has a blazing fastball that reaches the mid- to high-90s, an excellent breaking ball and a solid curve. He was the Pac-10's regular-season leader in ERA, opponents batting average, strikeouts and wins. Going into the CWS, he ranked third among Division I pitchers in ERA and strikeouts per nine innings (12.9). A high-school All-American, Prior was drafted by the New York Yankees in 1998 but went to Vanderbilt instead. He transferred to USC after his freshman season. This is the first time the Cubs have had the No. 2 pick since 1981, when they chose outfielder Joe Carter.
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