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Quinn Priester Shows Promising Swing and Miss in Pirates Loss

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Ignoring the walkoff loss late Friday night, I think the Pittsburgh Pirates got one positive sign in the opening game of their series with the Giants. In his latest MLB start, Quinn Priester tossed six shutout innings.

The 2019 first round pick had a 7.74 ERA in ten appearances in the Majors last year. He made his first start of the season one week ago, allowing five runs, four earned, in 4.1 innings. Friday night’s start was not only the best of Priester’s brief MLB career, but the first time in 12 appearances that he didn’t allow a run.

What stood out the most was the swing and miss. Priester was missing more bats early in the season with Indianapolis, with 20 whiffs in his debut on March 31st, and 17 more in his final start before the callup on April 13th. On Friday night, Priester led all pitchers on both sides of the contest with 14 whiffs. The breakdown of his pitches:

  • Priester led with the slider, getting 6 whiffs on 14 swings (43%), along with 3 called strikes for a 35% called and swinging strike rate (CSW%) on 26 pitches.
  • The sinker was his next used pitch, getting a lower whiff rate (3-for-14, 21%), but five called strikes for an overall 33% CSW on 24 pitches.
  • Priester’s curveball led to two whiffs on six swings (33%), with three more called strikes for a 42% CSW on 12 pitches.
  • The four-seam fastball was thrown 12 times, getting two whiffs on four swings (50%), with two more called strikes for a 33% CSW.
  • His changeup was thrown ten times, getting one whiff on five swings (20%), along with two swinging strikes for a 30% CSW.

Priester had a 25.8% CSW last season, and that was due to a higher called strike rate, rather than a high amount of swinging strikes. He was 30% or higher on all five of his pitches on Friday night, while showing improved control.

The most encouraging thing was the composure from Priester. There were times in the past where he allowed hits, or got into big situations, and you could see the frustration on his face, or the uncontrolled intensity of the moment which ultimately led to him angrily reacting to runs allowed. In his latest start, Priester maintained composure, channeling all of that energy into his attack plan.

In the second, he allowed a leadoff single, but struck out the next two batters. In the sixth inning, he allowed a single and a walk with one outs, before getting a big strikeout against Jorge Soler, and a groundout against Michael Conforto to end his shutout appearance. These were moments that would have spiraled on Priester in the past.

The Pirates ended up losing 3-0 on a walk off home run by Patrick Bailey against David Bednar. The offense had plenty of scoring chances, including a man on third and one out in the top of the ninth. They went 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position, leaving 11 men on base.

STATCAST HEROES

The minor league Statcast Heroes can be found in the nightly Pirates Prospect Watch.

DAILY VIDEO RUNDOWN

Braxton Ashcraft struck out five in Altoona. Here is his first of the night.

Jase Bowen brings in one of the two Altoona runs on the night.

Abrahan Gutierrez connects for the second run.

P.J. Hilson hit the go-ahead home run in Bradenton.

PROSPECT WATCH

Bradenton won a 1-0 shutout, led by shutout pitching from 2023 4th rounder Carlson Reed.

ROSTER MOVES

  • The Pirates called up RHP Kyle Nicolas prior to Friday’s game, after sending down RHP Ryder Ryan on Thursday night.

TODAY: PIRATES (13-14) AT GIANTS (13-14)

Game Time: 9:05 PM EDT
Watch: SportsNet-PIT
Listen: KDKA-FM 93.7

Pirates Starter: Martin Perez, LHP (1-1, 3.45)
Giants Starter: Jordan Hicks, RHP (2-0, 1.61)

In the Minors…

  • Triple-A: Indianapolis, 7:05 PM – LHP Eric Lauer (2-0, 2.37)
  • Double-A: Altoona, 4:00 PM – RHP Po-Yu Chen (0-1, 9.90)
  • High-A: Greensboro, 7:05 PM – RHP Wilber Dotel (1-0, 0.00)
  • Single-A: Bradenton, 6:30 PM – LHP Michael Kennedy (0-1, 4.50)

PIRATES PROSPECTS DAILY

I didn’t publish a daily feature on Friday, as the second day of a migraine led me to take most of the day off. I’ll finish what I had and publish this weekend. Look for Saturday Sleepers on the site at noon.

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THIS WEEK ON PIRATES PROSPECTS

This week’s premium article drop for Patreon subscribers looks at players in Single-A with the Bradenton Marauders. Like every other level, this group is highlighted by interesting pitchers. There are also some hitters to follow on the position player side, which I broke down in my premium column.

**Williams: Pirates Prospects Sleepers to Follow in Single-A

Michael Kennedy was an over-slot prep pick in the fourth round of the 2022 draft. The lefty is in his first full-season league in pro ball, and showed promise this past weekend with an eight strikeout performance.

**Michael Kennedy Shows Path to Big Leagues With Eight Strikeout Performance

Khristian Curtis has a six pitch mix, despite not having a lot of time on the mound in his pitching career. The Pirates gave him an over-slot bonus as a 12th rounder last year, giving them the chance to develop his arsenal.

**Khristian Curtis Features Big Stuff From a Six Pitch Mix

Carlson Reed is showing promise in his early results with Bradenton. The West Virginia draftee has a 2.45 ERA in his first three starts this year, after being taken in the fourth round last year.

**West Virginia Pitcher Carlson Reed is Off to a Great Start With the Pirates

Relievers aren’t usually prospects in the lower levels, but Magdiel Cotto is a lefty who can get his fastball up to 95. The Pirates went over-slot on him in the 11th round last year, and he’s showing good results as a reliever in the 2024 season.

**Magdiel Cotto is an Over-Slot Lefty With a Fastball That Gets Up to 95

The Pirates traded for Connor Oliver at the start of the season, getting something in return for Colin Selby. This marks his sixth different organization since the start of 2020, with hopes that the Pirates can develop the lefty into an MLB option.

**Connor Oliver Remains on the Move With Trade to Pirates

SONG OF THE DAY

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Tim Williams
Tim Williams
Tim is the owner, producer, editor, and lead writer of PiratesProspects.com. He has been running Pirates Prospects since 2009, becoming the first new media reporter and outlet covering the Pirates at the MLB level in 2011 and 2012. His work can also be found in Baseball America, where he has been a contributor since 2014 and the Pirates' correspondent since 2019.

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