Skip to main content

Season storyline: Quinn Priester rejoins Pirates

Quinn Priester makes MLB return Former top prospect called up to majors following injury to Marco Gonzales   The Pittsburgh Pirates’ rotation to start the year he been a welcome surprise. Between Martin Perez holding a 2.55 earned run average (ERA) and Jared Jones setting the baseball world on fire to start his career, the rotation has kept them in most games this season. After Marco Gonzales landed on the injured list because of a left forearm muscle strain, Quinn Priester will be the next man up to continue the success. Priester’s first major league stint was not what Pirates’ fans had been hoping for. The former top prospect had lost some of his velocity and his good breaking stuff was not enough to make up for a fastball that was too hittable. The strikeouts were also not enough to make up for how hard he was getting hit in 2023. Albeit in a small sample size, Priester may be on the verge of a resurgence after working on those problems. After being drafted at ...
Post a Comment

Season storyline: Quinn Priester rejoins Pirates

Quinn Priester makes MLB return

Former top prospect called up to majors following injury to Marco Gonzales

 

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ rotation to start the year he been a welcome surprise. Between Martin Perez holding a 2.55 earned run average (ERA) and Jared Jones setting the baseball world on fire to start his career, the rotation has kept them in most games this season.

After Marco Gonzales landed on the injured list because of a left forearm muscle strain, Quinn Priester will be the next man up to continue the success.

Priester’s first major league stint was not what Pirates’ fans had been hoping for. The former top prospect had lost some of his velocity and his good breaking stuff was not enough to make up for a fastball that was too hittable.

The strikeouts were also not enough to make up for how hard he was getting hit in 2023.

Albeit in a small sample size, Priester may be on the verge of a resurgence after working on those problems.

After being drafted at pick 18 of the first round in 2019 out of Cary, Illinois, he flashed the stuff that made him a first rounder to the tune of a sub 3.30 ERA in 2019, 2021 and 2022. The latter two seasons both saw him throw over 90 innings.

The drop in velocity and missing spots too often led to a 7.74 ERA a year ago with the major league club, although he had a fantastic ground ball rate to build off.

The early signs in 2024 have been promising.

With the AAA Indianapolis Indians, Priester has worked the fastball back up to 93 to 94 mph, touching 95, and has been much more successful against left-handed batters who hit him hard in MLB.

Last year he was missing down the middle with the fastball to lefties too often and it led to a slugging percentage against over .800. This year he’s hit the edge of the zone away with much more consistency on the way to a slugging percentage against at .300.

Priester does not hold an overpowering pitch, like Paul Skenes or Jones’ fastballs, but consistently locating low and away with his sinker and highly praised curveball could bring success. Additionally, the right-hander will still be 23 until September.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Steelers hire Arthur Smith as OC: What should you expect?

Former head coach, offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Arthur Smith is set to join the Black and Gold for the 2024-25 season By Aidan Treu   It is no secret Arthur Smith did not light up the league during his head coaching tenure with the Falcons. Social media would be quick to point that out, though he may be a better fit than many think. The most frequent criticism of the Steelers' new OC was inconsistency in getting his top playmakers the ball. In some situations this was the case, but it is not entirely true. Bijan Robinson was his star, a running back picked top-10. The narrative was set that he didn't touch the ball enough. This is overlooking his finish within the top-10 of rushing plus receiving yards at 1,463. Another criticism was Drake London's lack of involvement. London quietly finished the year just outside the top-32 in receiving yards with 905, but that is besides the point. Much of these criticisms can be somewhat put to bed when looking at his ...
5 comments
Read more

The BSR Mission

The BSR Mission By Aidan Treu  The goal is to provide input and new ideas to the Pittsburgh sports landscape through a variety of different forms of content while fostering a positive community and discussion. What to expect  On-season content will consist primarily of season storylines, player highlights, prospect highlights and mock trades. Off-season content will focus on potential team acquisitions, draft profiles and the free agency cycle with the timing of each post varying between MLB and the NFL's differing schedules.  Sports discourse is better when there is healthy debate.  Stories will be written with the intention of starting discussion. I will be sharing my own opinions but I would also love to see if and why readers disagree in the comments. Season storylines If a player or the team is coming close to breaking a record or achieving something not seen everyday, the storyline will be explained and given context so readers can follow along themselves. Pl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Prospect highlight: Quinyon Mitchell

University of Toledo cornerback Quinyon Mitchell could team up with Joey Porter Jr. to create a lockdown Steelers secondary By Aidan Treu   If Quinyon Mitchell is available at pick 20 in the upcoming NFL draft, it might not take long for the Steelers to get their pick in. His recent meteoric rise up draft boards may prevent him from falling to 20. However, a bit of a fall down the board or potentially a trade-up could bring the Steelers one of the better cornerback duos in football. At six-foot-tall and 195 pounds, his size is not the biggest draw or reason for increased interest. His 40-yard dash time is a different story. At 4.33 seconds, Mitchell is firmly among the fastest prospects in terms of straight-line speed. We have seen blazing speed not translate to level NFL level more than a few times, but Mitchell has shown more than just that. The cornerback also put up impressive numbers on the bench press, repping 225 pounds 20 times. After the combine, it is clear ...
Post a Comment
Read more