The arrow finally appears to be pointing up for Mark Prior, who is scheduled to make his fourth rehab start Tuesday night.
Prior, who will start for Triple-A Iowa in New Orleans, threw on the side Sunday morning before the Cubs faced the Reds at Great American Ball Park.
“Things are feeling good,” Prior said. “I’m just a little bit off right now. I feel strong.”
Pitching coach Larry Rothschild said he would like to see Prior increase his pitch total to more than 90 Tuesday.
Prior missed all of spring training and was placed on the 60-day disabled list March 27 with a right shoulder strain.
He was the winning pitcher for the West Tenn Diamond Jaxx against Double-A Birmingham on Thursday in Jackson, Tenn. He threw 76 pitches, gave up four hits, walked two and struck out four. After giving up three runs in the first, Prior shut out the Barons.
“I felt like I could have gone a little bit more,” he said. “I think that was a good sign. I think 90 [pitches], give or take, is right where I will be on Tuesday. The goal is to get through it and get through healthy.”
With the likelihood he could be activated soon for the big-league roster, Prior plans to take a more aggressive approach to Tuesday night’s assignment than he has previously.
“I think the first two outings in Peoria were designed to kind of find out where everything [was] and work on things,” he said. “A little bit on Thursday was working on some things. . . . You try to approach [the final two starts] more like a regular-season game. I have got to take that mind-set and try to pitch strong and do the things I normally would do.”
Prior remains reluctant to target a date for his season debut with the Cubs.
“I don’t think we are even going to discuss that until after I throw on Tuesday and get back to Chicago on Wednesday,” he said. “Right now my focus is on Tuesday.”
Prior hopes to refine his breaking pitches and fastball, but he said his pitch count is the main concern.
“I am very confident, especially after my last outing, that I can compete here to the point where I would not be a detriment as far as going three or four innings and then putting a lot of strain on the bullpen over the next three or four days,” he said.
“I am not going to be able to go 120 [pitches] out of the chute, but I will go six or seven [innings] every time out,” Prior said.
