Pittsburgh Pirates: Three Things That Must Be Done After the All-Star Break

It's time to see what Quinn Priester can do

The 19th overall selection in the 2019 MLB Draft, Quinn Priester is a pitcher Pirate fans have been excited to see in the majors for quite some time. Priester is now at the Triple-A level and the Pirate starting rotation is in dire need of help.

Even though Priester has struggled to find consistency this season, it's time to see what he can do in the majors.

Priester currently owns a 4.36 ERA, 3.83 FIP, 0.62 HR/9, 9.5% walk rate, and a 22.7% strikeout rate in 86.2 innings pitched in 17 starts this season. Not poor numbers, but also not the numbers you would like to see at Triple-A from one of your top pitching prospects.

Now, there is some smoke that Priester could make his MLB debut next Tuesday at PNC Park against the Cleveland Guardians. However, at least as of this writing, there was no noteworthy or legitimate smoke.

On the season, Pirate starting pitchers rank 8th in the National League in ERA (4.50) and 7th in FIP (4.27). However, since June 5th Pirate starting pitchers own a woeful 5.09 ERA and 4.58 FIP. This has included Luis Ortiz struggling and being optioned to Triple-A. Osvaldo Bido proving why he had been a career minor leaguer, Johan Oviedo struggling, and Roansy Contreras completely imploding.

There are plenty of questions about how much more development, if any, Priester has left. At this point, the best step for development would be for him to start to log starts in the majors. It's time to start to find out what the Pirates have in Priester. Right now, Mitch Keller is the only starting pitcher locked into an Opening Day rotation spot for 2023, let's ee if Priester can join that discussion.