A few hours before the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted their potential catcher of the future, a possible future batterymate was on display.
Quinn Priester worked to three batters in the MLB Futures Game on Sunday at Coors Field in Denver. The Pirates’ No. 3-rated prospect by MLB Pipeline, Priester walked a batter, induced a fielder’s choice and got the Chicago White Sox’s No. 2 prospect, Yoelqui Cespedes, to strike out swinging.
A right-hander taken No. 18 in the first round of the 2019 draft, Priester got two swinging strikes from Cespedes: one on a 96.2 mph fastball and the put-away pitch of a 90.7 mph cutter.
Among his 13 pitches thrown in a contest matching the game’s top prospects, the 20-year-old Priester threw seven fastballs (all between 95 mph and 96 mph), four cutters and two curveballs.
Priester’s walk was to the No. 1 overall pick of the 2019 draft, Adley Rutschman out of the Baltimore Orioles organization. According to MLB.com, a mic’d-up Rutschman remarked on the “weird movement” Priester had on his pitches.
The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Priester has a 3.35 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 40 strikeouts and 17 walks in 43 innings for High Class A Greensboro this season.
The Pirates selected Louisville catcher Henry Davis with the No. 1 overall pick of the draft Sunday night.
Right-hander Roansy Contreras also was selected for the Futures Game, but he did not participate because of injury. Contreras, 21, is pitching for Double-A Altoona this season.
The National League Futures team defeated the team American League prospects 8-3.
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