Pittsburgh Pirates 2021 Previews: RHP Quinn Priester
As the Pittsburgh Pirates continue their rebuild to bring a winning team back in Pittsburgh, their prospects and development are more important than ever. These highly touted prospects have to start turning out and becoming competitive Major League players. The Pirates greatly improved that Minor League system this off-season, adding 11 new players to the Top 30 prospects list. However, through all the changes, one guy who has held his ground on the list is right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester. He is joining Big League Spring Training for the first time in his professional baseball career and has been turning heads.
Although he hasn't yet appeared in a Spring Training game for the Pirates this year, his bullpens have looked good and he has been able to throw simulated games on the side fields. He lost a year of development last year with the cancellation of the Minor League season but still got the opportunity to work out at the team's alternate training site in Altoona. After working at home for the majority of the season, Priester came into Altoona looking better than ever. His fastball reached 98 miles per hour, the fastest it ever was, and he had an impressive scrimmage start. He lasted three innings and struck out six batters. Entering his age 20 season, Priester is looking to make that move to the upper levels of the Minor Leagues. As the top Pirates pitching prospect, he has a lot riding on his shoulders and is ready to step up to the challenge.
Showing First-Round Talent
When Priester was selected 18th overall in the 2019 MLB draft, he was considered the best prep pitcher in the draft. He had high expectations set on him and would get a chance to prove what he could do with the GCL Pirates. The then 18-year-old lived up to his first-round draft status making eight appearances, seven starts, for the GCL Pirates, and went 1-1 with a 3.03 ERA. The Pirates eased him into professional baseball out of the bullpen and he was up to the task. He made his pro debut on July 2nd, 2019, and lasted 2.1 innings of work giving up one earned run on three hits while walking one and striking out two. He showed he was ready to take on a starter's role with the GCL Pirates.
Priester made his first professional start give days later and again allowed just one earned run over four innings of work. He struck out five batters in the game, a streak that would continue throughout the season. He lasted four innings or more in five of his seven starts in rookie ball. He struck out 37 batters in his 32.2 innings of work while walking 6.2% of the batters he faced. Priester turned in two quality starts and had his fastball reaching into the mid-90s. With Priester showing signs of success, the Pirates decided to promote him to Class-A Short Season West Virginia for his final start of the year.
During that final start, of the season Priester lasted four innings in the game and gave up three earned runs on three hits while walking four and striking out four. Priester's control was not on point, but his strikeout rate remained. He was supposed to advance to full-season ball in 2020, but the Minor League shutdown forced him to work from home, like many other Americans. When he came back to Altoona to participate at the alternate training site, he had velocity that the Pirates hadn't seen before, and looked like not only the top pitching prospect for the Pirates but a top pitching prospect in Major League Baseball.
Conquering The Upper Levels of the Minor Leagues
Priester has shown that he can handle the lower levels of the Minor Leagues, but now his biggest challenge comes as he takes the jump towards Double-A Altoona. While he is only 20-years-old, he is going to be looked upon to be the ace of a rotation that includes already four of the Pirates Top Prospects. Joining Priester will more than likely be Eddy Yean (#7), Brennan Malone (#9), Omar Cruz (#20), and Roansy Contreras (#19). With so much talent in one rotation, the best are going to have to separate themselves to get attention from upper management. Priester has the stuff to be able to separate himself, but it will all come down to execution and how he carries himself on the mound.
Priester took a big step forward in terms of velocity despite not being able to play in live games. In 2019, Priester's fastball consistently hit in the mid-90s and led to a strikeout rate of 25.7%. However, when he came into camp at Altoona, his fastball was consistently touching 98 miles per hour. The results were seen in his first simulated game, as he struck out six batters in three innings of work. His top three pitches are his fastball, change-up, and curveball, but it's his change-up that grades out to the best pitch. On a 20-80 scale, his change-up was graded as a 70 during the 2019 season. It is important to have a plus-breaking ball to balance out the fastball, and Priester is showing that balance.
As for where Priester will begin the 2021 season, he will probably begin his session in Altoona. It is a little bit of a risk jumping him from rookie ball to Double-A, but his work in Big League camp will help prepare him for the challenges he is about to face. They say a prospect's biggest jump is getting to Double-A and it usually separated the contenders from the pretenders. Priester came into the season ranked as the #52 prospect in baseball by Baseball America, and he is looking to continue to climb that ladder. With hard work and determination, we could see Priester in the Big Leagues by the 2022 or 2023 season.
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