Pittsburgh Pirates 2021: Two Players Named To Futures Game

As part of All-Star week, the Futures Game is a way to showcase the top talent in the minor leagues.  The Pittsburgh Pirates have had two pitchers named to the roster for the National League.

As part of the rebuild process, the Pittsburgh Pirates need to see more from their minor leaguers.  One area for that to shine is the prospect rankings by various sites, where the club is either at the top (FanGraphs, ESPN) or more middle (MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, Keith Law).  Another way to showcase an improved farm is the Futures Game.  The National League and American League teams have prospects from every org that are playing well and the two clubs play on the Sunday of All-Star week.

This year the big headline will be the draft, which takes place after the Futures Game, but the Futures Game is still an exciting time.  The Pittsburgh Pirates will have two players on the National League team.  The first is Quinn Priester, the 2019 first round pick.  He has a 3.32 ERA with 37 strikeouts and 15 walks this season in High-A Greensboro.  He is the Pirates top pitching prospect and one of the top pitching prospects in baseball.  Priester showcases an upper 90s fastball with a plus curveball.

The other player is one that Ben Cherington acquired this offseason.  Roansy Contreras has pitched well for Double-A Altoona and has been a bright spot.  He is now a Baseball America top 100 prospect.  On the season he has an ERA of 2.00 with 64 strikeouts and nine walks.  Contreras is on the verge of reaching Triple A Indianapolis soon.

Priester and Contreras represent the next generation of Pirates pitching.  Cherington and his player development staff have overhauled the way the team goes about development. It is important for the club to get these two players right.  The two will showcase their talents on July 11th.