Pirates pitcher Quinn Priester 'itching' to prove top-100 status while chasing his daydreams

Quinn Priester reported for his first major league spring training with the Pittsburgh Pirates wearing a first-round tag and a growing reputation as one of baseball’s top-100 prospects, so don’t mind the 20-year-old right-hander if his mind drifts towards leading the revival of a struggling franchise.

“So I do, I think like anybody would, catch myself a little bit daydreaming about playoff games at PNC,” Priester said Saturday on a video conference call from Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla. “But I definitely like to keep myself grounded just by reflecting how fortunate I am to be able to come out here and get on the mound and throw baseballs for a living. That’s incredible. Like, that doesn’t go over my head. But that’s something that’s really really special to me.

“So putting that perspective helps me kind of go day to day and go ‘you know what, if this is the last day I’ll ever throw a baseball, like I want it to be the best day I’ve got.’ That’s kind of how I look each day and take it every single day one step at a time. But full honesty, it does happen where I find myself thinking about those playoff games that I really really want to be a part of and help win it. But … I’m not going to get there just by daydreaming about it.”

This angle ?

Quinn Priester was one of our biggest risers of the past year and is now a Top ? prospect in baseball.

Here’s why ?https://t.co/M80YrEh1dC

(? @Pirates)pic.twitter.com/SE4zJvRBIq

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) February 19, 2021

The Pirates believe Priester has the potential to become a franchise cornerstone, which is why they included their 2019 first-round pick (No. 18 overall) as one of the 75 players invited to spring training even though he has yet to play a full season in the minor leagues. Pirates manager Derek Shelton wants prospects to dream big, stressing the need for synergy between the big-league club and player development as “vital” and calling it the “lifeblood” of the future.

“I think they should have big-picture goals,” Shelton said. “For him to be thinking about pitching at PNC and what he’s going to do at PNC, that’s important because you have to have the finish line, in terms of where you’re going and once you get to where you’re going, of getting better every day. To have something that you’re looking forward to is extremely important.”

Priester was at Pirate City last March for minor league camp when the sport was shut down by the covid-19 pandemic, so he went from soaking in Florida’s sunshine to weathering Chicago’s harsh winter. He practiced at his alma mater, Cary-Grove High School in Glendale Heights, Ill., with Drew Stengren, a catcher at Central Michigan. Priester called it “the extent of my social interaction” and “the highlight of every single one of my days.”

One week.#pitchersandcatchersreport#baseballseason#letsgobucs ?‍☠️@QuinnPriester pic.twitter.com/QtpcJcEgoH

— Chris Foley-Priester (@cpriester) February 8, 2021

“There was still snow on the ground. I was outside, throwing my first bullpen at home outside because everything indoors was shut down. You couldn’t pretty much go anywhere in 34 degrees throwing a bullpen,” Priester said. “To go from Florida, where I’m halfway through my bullpen and my entire uniform is soaked, to where I’m wearing two pair of long sleeves, a pair of tights – everything I possibly can – there was definitely a difference in feel, and I had to adjust to that.”

The 6-foot-2, 209-pound Priester worked out at a facility run by Chicago White Sox director of conditioning Allen Thomas, throwing against a cinder-block wall and playing catch with fellow prospects like Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Alek Thomas and Oakland A’s shortstop Jalen Greer, as well as college pitchers in Duke left-hander Kyle Salley and Minnesota right-hander J.P. Massey.

So, Priester was pumped when his hard work was rewarded with a chance to play in the Instructional League in Florida last fall. He had only pitched 36 2/3 innings in the summer of 2019, starting seven games in the rookie-ball Gulf Coast League and one for Low-A West Virginia.

RHP Prospect, Quinn Priester #Pirates

“Could emerge as the best pitching prospect in 2021” ? pic.twitter.com/pio1TSQWb8

— Pirates Prospect Talk (@TalkPirates) February 2, 2021

“It was fun to play what seemed like real baseball again,” Priester said. “To finally get back out there to trying to get guys to put the ball in play and get outs early in counts and to control runners, it was like playing baseball again. It was so fun. I think I was able to take advantage of that atmosphere just by staying loose, then from all the work that I had done in the summer. I didn’t put a whole lot of pressure on myself to perform.”

Scouts saw the velocity on his fastball touch the upper 90s, a complementary power curveball and an improved changeup, which Priester has become much more confident in throwing. Shelton and Pirates pitching coach Oscar Marin got to see Priester throw around 40 pitches over three innings, and his efficiency left a lasting impression.

“I knew the plan with him going into that outing, and it was to use his curveball earlier in counts, maybe steal strikes, and he absolutely did that and a little bit more from there,” Marin said. “Got to see command of his fastball both sides of the plate that day. He did have some intention to use it to the top of the zone, where he got a couple of swing and misses. Got to see a little bit of everything. … Just commanded the zone. That’s something that really stood out for me with velocity.”

When the revised top-100 lists came out this month, Priester was ranked No. 52 by MLB Pipeline, 56th by Baseball America, 73rd by The Athletic and 87th by ESPN. It was reward for Priester, who joked that after pitching at Pirate City, his high school mound “looks like a pimple.”

“It was definitely a lot of adversity that had to be overcame there,” Priester said. “I’m really proud of doing that. To get that recognition on top of that is icing on the cake.”

Now, Priester has the opportunity to work with the likes of Marin, bullpen coach Justin Meccage, farm director John Baker, minor league pitching coordinator Josh Hopper and former major league pitchers in Scott Elarton and Joel Hanrahan. Priester can’t wait to show the Pirates what he can do this spring so he can set goals for the season, start chasing his daydreams and turning them into reality.

“I’m itching, like I’m very much itching to get out there and to put all the work, especially from the offseason – and I’ll include last year – into a game environment and for it to matter towards a win and loss record,” Priester said. “So I’m itching. I’m anxious and that can’t come soon enough, no doubt.”