Pirates to promote top pitching prospect Quinn Priester; will start vs. Cleveland

The Pittsburgh Pirates are set to make yet another high-profile promotion of one of their top prospects, as Saturday afternoon manager Derek Shelton confirmed rumors that right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester will join the club and start Monday at home vs. Cleveland.

Priester, 22, was the Pirates’ first-round selection, No. 18 overall, in the 2019 MLB Draft.

MLB Pipeline ranks Priester at No. 54 within the top 100 baseball prospects. He is listed as the Pirates’ No. 4 overall prospect behind Termarr Johnson, Henry Davis and Endy Rodriguez.

This season, his first full campaign at Triple-A Indianapolis, Priester has a 7-3 record and 4.31 ERA over 87²⁄₃ innings, striking out 84 and walking 35 in 18 starts.

Priester pitched a gem against the Memphis Redbirds on July 6, going 7¹⁄₃ innings and allowing two runs on five hits. His most recent start, Friday vs. the Omaha Storm Chasers, was cut short after one inning, ostensibly because of his impending promotion.

Helping himself out!

No. 4 @Pirates prospect Quinn Priester flashes the leather on this between-the-legs snag for the @indyindians.

Watch the rest of his outing FREE: https://t.co/aKtGFgX9NB pic.twitter.com/J3olpg6jqn

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) June 25, 2023

“We anticipate Quinn to start Monday against the Guardians,” Shelton said. “I know he was pulled last night after one (inning) in his start, but our anticipation is he would start Monday against the Guardians.”

Priester is set to be the fourth first-round prospect called up by the Pirates in 2023, joining Davis (No. 1, 2021), infielder Nick Gonzales (No. 7, 2020) and reliever Carmen Mlodzinski (No. 31, 2020 MLB June Amateur Draft).

“I think it’s important that our development process is working because we’re getting guys to the major-league level, and we’re getting them opportunities — some of them pretty rapidly — which is important for us as we move forward,” Shelton said.

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound Priester fills a void in the Pirates’ starting rotation left by the recent demotion of Luis Ortiz.

“It’s always exciting,” pitching coach Oscar Marin said. “It’s exciting just because the one thing you always think about is the kind of depth you have and the expectation of what you’re going to see. It’s exciting to see some of these guys and for good reason. When they come up, they come up for a reason. It’s always exciting when we see guys come up.”

Get ready ???? pic.twitter.com/jGmTspONn7

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 15, 2023

Priester joins the Pirates with a repertoire that includes a fastball, curveball, slider and changeup.

Throughout his minor-league career, which began in 2019, Priester has gone 20-13 with a 3.49 ERA and 1.26 WHIP.

In 2022, Priester rapidly was promoted through the Pirates farm system as he began the season with Single-A Bradenton before spending the majority of the year with Double-A Altoona, starting 15 games for the Curve and going 4-4 with a 2.87 ERA.

By year’s end, he had logged a pair of starts in Indianapolis, where he began this season.

He will take the mound Monday in the first of three games at PNC Park against the Guardians.

“It’s a situation where he’s continuing to get better and deserves to get an opportunity at the major-league level,” Shelton said. “We’re going to be excited about that.”