ALTOONA, Pa. -- Greensboro's Quinn Priester started Friday night's game by striking out nine batters in a row and 11 of the first 12 hitters against the Asheville Tourists.
Priester was perfect through five innings before yielding the lone Asheville hit in the bottom of the sixth inning. The 2019 first round pick of the Pirates finished the sixth inning before his night was complete allowing a hit, striking out 13 and walking no one on 96 pitches.
He's now 6-3 with a 2.83 on the season in 17 starts and has thrown 85 innings which ranks fourth in High-A East. Priester has walked only 30 while striking out 87 so far this season. Friday night's win was the third for Priester since appearing in the All-Star Futures Game on July 11.
Since starting the season 0-2, Priester has gone 6-1 and has a WHIP of 1.15 which ranks first among those who qualified. Priester's performance this season has shown why the Pirates took him with the 18th pick in 2019 and why they sent him to the alternate training site in Altoona last summer. The potential he shows is real and Friday night's performance only added to that.
The Greensboro season ends September 19 and barring any promotions for Priester, it looks as though he'll get three more starts to finish out the season. Should those starts happen in High-A, Priester will start twice against the High-A North-leading Hudson Valley Renegades, affiliate of the New York Yankees with the third coming against Jersey Shore.
With Major League rosters expanding September 1, Priester could be the beneficiary of a late-season call-up to Altoona pending on who those roster moves play out. Priester's performance has warranted a promotion in his first full season of professional baseball, but whether the Pirates reward that performance to end the season remains to be seen.
