Quinn Priester had three pitches when he was selected by the Pirates in the first round of the 2019 amateur draft. Well, two and a half: A four-seam, a curveball and what he referred to as a "crap" circle changeup.
Now on the precipice of the major leagues, Priester works with five pitches. He now has two fastballs -- a four-seamer and a sinker -- a curveball, a changeup with a Vulcan grip and a slider.
"There was a game this year where I had a strikeout on all five," Priester said at PNC Park Friday before a season ticket holder event. "I was really proud of that. It’s the first time I’ve ever done it. At that point, it’s like, ‘Yeah, man. If I’m striking guys out on all five, they’re all legit. They all have that promise to be a plus offering, which I think a lot of them are already. It’s just a matter of getting more consistent and using them more so I can learn where they work the best, especially against big league talent. Just refining and refining forever."
Most of the starting pitcher prospects that have come through the Pirates farm system over the past decade focused on developing three pitch repertoires while in the lower levels of the minors. Through various conversations in the minors, Priester found most of his expanded pitch selection. The sinker, for instance, took a step forward after working with minor-leaguer Dylan Shockley. The changeup grip came from experimentation as well.
"Some guys do things exceptionally well, and I think it would be stupid to not try to learn from those guys," Priester said. "I would argue that there are things I do well that I hope people can ask me too. I don't know everything, I'll never know everything."
And the slider?
"The slider was the one that came out of nowhere," Priester said.
That came in 2020 during the pandemic. With no minor-league season, Priester and his pro player friends -- Alek Thomas, Wyatt Mascarella, Drew Stengren and Donovan Williams -- began facing each other to get reps. But as the workouts continued, the hitters learned what Priester's pitches looked like, especially his curveball, and they were consistently winning.
So he decided to try something new: A slider.
"That's where it came from," Priester said. "It wasn't like, 'hey, we think this is going to help you out because of your sinker.' It was just, 'hey, I want to throw something else.' "
He took to it quickly. His friends couldn't hit it and it started to click. So much so that when he returned to games in 2021, the slider was in the mix.
And talking to a National League analyst, that slider is believed to be his best pitch. FanGraphs grades it as a potentially plus pitch.
It has more cutter action, giving him the ability to throw it around the zone or have it run away from hitters. With that, he has multiple breaking pitches that can get hitters out.
Those pitches got better in 2022, as well. After starting the season on the injured list because of an oblique, Priester was held back a little longer so he could work on his mechanics. What he found was something that was more repeatable and better for him.
"I think I battled through a lot of adversity last year, going through the oblique and being able to come back and to build innings in a shortened timeframe," he said. "Then also the experience of better competition in Double-A, getting a few opportunities in Triple-A at the end of the year, then the Fall League. That was the best competition I faced. I had success. I didn’t have as much success as I knew I could have, which is an exciting thing for me."
The Arizona Fall League wasn't the only area Priester found success. He was also named the organization's Bob Friend Pitcher of the Year in November, and he's positioned to be called up to the majors in 2023.
"There are things that we were able to identify — pitching against great competition and progressively better competition as the year went on — that we can now take 2-3 months to really hone in on and get ready in a largely stress-free environment," Priester said. "It’s exciting. I know I’m going to be able to get a lot done and get a lot better come February whenever that report day is."
Talking in the clubhouse at PNC Park, Priester already looks comfortable in a major-league surrounding.
It should. He's thought about being in this room quite a bit, and what he could do when he finally gets his chance.
"It has to, right? Rookie of the year has crossed my mind. I want to set big goals because you work harder for that. You realize that’s a pretty big goal. Can’t really slack if that’s what I really want to be. I just want to give myself every opportunity to be the best version of myself that I can be. I don’t know what that will be, but I’m going to work as hard as I can to achieve it. I don’t want to put a limit on that."
