Pittsburgh Pirates: Quinn Priester A Name to Watch in 2021

As prospect season has come around, various outlets are releasing their team, position, and top 100 rankings.  MLB Pipeline has a Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed starter as a name to watch.

All off season, Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Quinn Priester has seen praise and has been mentioned as a prospect to watch out for in 2021.  It started with MLB Pipeline mentioning the former 2019 first round pick in a podcast, which they stated they expect him to make a big jump in prospect rankings for the 2021 season.  Then, Jonathan Mayo and Jim Callis, when ranking breakout prospects for each team, mentioned Priester as the Pirates breakout candidate.

Just yesterday, Baseball America released their top 100 prospects for 2021, where Priester ranked 58th, receiving a pair of 60s for his fastball and curveball.  The 20-year-old performed well in his brief time in Altoona and really popped at instructs in Florida.  He was sitting in the upper 90s and should continue to appear on top 100 prospect lists this offseason as the Pirates best right-handed starter.

Today, MLB Pipeline released their top 10 right handed pitching prospects in baseball.  While no Pirate made the rankings, Priester was named a player to keep an eye on.  The outlet wrote,

"“Though he didn’t throw an official pitch in 2020, like many Minor League arms, few pitching prospects are generating more buzz than the Pirates’ first-round pick in ’19. The Illinois high school product threw well when he joined the organization’s alternate training site late in the summer and then was lights out during instructional league play in Florida, with some believing he could be at or near the top of this list in a year’s time.”"

This is encouraging news, as the Pirates are rebuilding their farm system up.  Priester is the type of arm they need to hit on to lead their next wave of homegrown success.  The Pirates added to their farm system in international free agency and through trades of Josh Bell and Joe Musgrove, but it appears that third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes, shortstop Oneil Cruz, and Quinn Priester are the prospects of the future to go along with outfielder Bryan Reynolds and pitcher Mitch Keller.

Priester continues to receive positive reviews and is a prospect that is on the rise.  Look for him to be back-half of prospect lists this season with the chance to be a top 25 prospect in baseball heading into 2022 if he continues to develop at the same rate.