Quinn Priester’s latest pitch boosts ROY hopes
PITTSBURGH — If Quinn Priester wins the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 2023, there will likely be 4 gamers he’ll must acknowledge in his acceptance speech: Alek Thomas, Wyatt Mascarella, Drew Stengren and Donivan Williams. For with out these 4, Priester would possibly by no means have found the pitch that enabled him to evolve as a starter.
“I wanted to give my buddies a new look,” Priester stated. “I just didn’t want them to hit it. That was purely just, ‘Well, I had an opportunity to mess around.’ I did. And I stumbled upon something pretty good.”
Priester, the Pirates’ No. 3 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, presently options 5 pitches in his bag. The right-hander has thrown his four-seam fastball and curveball since highschool. He dabbled with a “crap” circle-changeup “to get drafted, mainly.” Upon turning professional, he transitioned to a Vulcan grip. In the Gulf Coast League, he and Dylan Shockley, a catcher within the Pirates’ Minor League system, conspired to throw extra sinkers within the pursuit of most effectivity. As for the fifth pitch? It form of simply occurred.
Prior to 2020, Priester struggled to throw a slider. He may by no means discover the texture. At the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, Priester stumbled into a possibility to get again within the lab.
During the pandemic, Priester continuously threw reside classes towards Thomas, Mascarella, Stengren and Williams — like Priester, merchandise of larger Chicago highschool baseball. That quartet continuously noticed Priester, and in time, they possessed doctorates within the area of Priester’s repertoire. They knew his fastball. They knew his curveball, changeup and sinker, too. They didn’t know of the slider.
In this low-stakes surroundings, Priester had nothing to lose by flipping in a pair sliders. As Priester threw the pitch an increasing number of, issues lastly clicked. Priester found a gem.
“I by no means actually thought of it. I used to be simply attempting to take pleasure in taking part in baseball,” Priester stated. “When I had only one breaking ball, my buddies knew. They’ve seen me every week. They know a curveball’s coming. What if I could just have another breaking ball? It was literally just to get out the same [four] guys.”
Priester’s repertoire has already undergone appreciable transformation since being drafted out of Cary-Grove High School in 2019, however he expressed an openness to additional evolve and study from others, whether or not that be completely different pitches or completely different grips. Priester cited the four-seam fastball of right-hander Mike Burrows, the Pirates’ No. 8 prospect, praising Burrows’ skill to constantly generate swing-and-miss.
“If he throws it at the top of the zone, it’s just whiff, whiff, whiff,” Priester stated. “Whereas, I’m going for foul balls straight again [and] popups. If he will get a foul ball, he’ll be pissed. Just like, ‘Seriously?’ It’s just a few guys do issues exceptionally effectively, and I believe it will be silly to not attempt to study from these guys.
“I would argue that there are things I do well that I hope people can ask me, too.”
Given Priester’s trajectory, there could be a pair up-and-coming pitchers who would like to study from the 22-year-old.
Priester is coming off one other profitable season. Despite lacking April and May with an indirect damage, Priester completed 2022 with a 3.29 ERA with 89 strikeouts throughout 90 1/3 innings at 4 Minor League ranges. Then, on the Arizona Fall League, Priester was chosen as an All-Star.
Priester probably will start 2023 with Triple-A Indianapolis, however he tasks to make his Major League debut in some unspecified time in the future subsequent season. As Priester stood within the Pirates’ clubhouse forward of a current season-ticket holder occasion, he shared that the opportunity of proudly owning — and holding — a locker wasn’t his solely thought.
“Rookie of the Year has crossed my mind,” Priester stated. “Those sorts of issues. I wish to set massive targets since you work more durable for that and also you notice, ‘Hey, that’s a reasonably large objective. I can’t actually slack if that’s what I actually wish to be.’
“I just want to give myself every opportunity to be the best version of myself that I can be. I don’t know what that will be, but I’m going to work as hard as I can to achieve it. I don’t want to put a limit on that.”
