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Flashback to July 17th. The Pittsburgh Pirates were preparing for the major league debuts of both Endy Rodriguez and Quinn Priester. The duo would be the first battery to be making their Pirates debut together since 1943. Excitement levels were high in Pittsburgh as two hopeful pieces of the Pirates’ future would begin their MLB careers.
Things started out phenomenal as Priester retired the first nine batters that he saw. He would then walk a batter in the fourth and had that followed up by a two-run homer. His final line by the time it was all said and done: 5 1/3 innings, seven runs, seven hits, and two walks. The Pirates lost 11-0. Bummer.
The hype died down just a bit but Priester was able to get the debut butterflies out of the way. He’s now made four starts in the major leagues. He’s got a winning 2-1 record. However, the proof that pitching records aren’t very indicative of a pitchers performance lies in Priester’s 8.69 ERA through just 19.2 innings. That is a bit of a concern. Priester has actually been solid against teams the first time through the order. After that, however, it hasn’t been very encouraging.
Quinn Priester By The Numbers
The thing with Priester is that he doesn’t really have an overpowering fastball. He typically sits 92-93 MPH with the heater that he throws 57% of the time. His curveball has solid movement on it and could be a plus-pitch. The changeup and slider are being refined but they’ve also got the bite needed to make hitters miss. The 22-year old has an issue locating it as he’s often left pitches up in the zone and it’s caused him to be hit around the park a good bit.
A lot of these numbers are ballooned. His career is only four starts worth of data but some of it is a bit concerning. His fastball is producing a .474 opponent batting average and the slider comes in a tick under that at .444. Hitters are seeing those pitches very well at the moment for whatever reason. The four-seamer and the slider have accounted for four of the five home runs Priester has allowed.
I'm looking forward to watching the battery of Quinn Priester and Endy Rodriguez for the foreseeable future…
Great job by Priester to get himself out of the jam. Excellent pitch location, great frame job by Endy, and of course followed by a triple point to the mound pic.twitter.com/T8xOHGUDma
— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) August 5, 2023
With his sinker, Priester profiles mainly as a ground ball pitcher. He’s got a 49.2% ground ball rate in his first four starts. It seems that when the ball is hit in the air, it typically falls for a hit. However, there are some numbers that suggest Priester is falling victim to some bad luck.
His xHR (expected home runs) is 3.5 on the year despite the fact he’s given up five. His exit velocity is 1.2 MPH lower than the MLB average of 88.4 MPH. Priester’s opponent batting average sits at .272 while his expected number comes in at .245. His biggest problem has seemingly been control. He is walking 14.9 batters per nine innings. The free passes have to start to disappear.
Should Pirates Continue to Let Priester Work as Starter?
No one wants to see top pitching prospects flame out. However, that seems to be a common theme in Pittsburgh. Tyler Glasnow and a handful of others before him, Priester’s early struggles don’t make for a comforting feeling. The Pirates have already seen Roansy Contreras and Luis Ortiz struggle their way in demotions to the minor leagues. Mitch Keller started the season looking like he’d turned the corner only to be one of the leagues’ worst starters over the past two months.
Priester is a raw 22-years old and hadn’t been lighting Triple-A on fire prior to the promotion. The Pirates had a need for a starting pitcher and decided to see what Priester could provide. Sending him back to Triple-A likely won’t be the answer. If they’ve got to eventually let him finish the season in the bullpen, so be it. He’ll have the offseason to refine what he needs to in order to become and effective starter.
The youngster never really had the promise of an ace pitcher but seems like he can be a solid two or three if things work out. However, that was the problem with Neal Huntington’s regime in Pittsburgh. They always took the guy with the high-floor, low-ceiling. Instead of taking a gamble on guys and hoping to find that lottery ticket, they typically went the safe route. That’s no indictment on Priester. But it is frustrating for those hoping the Pirates can one day turn a corner.
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