SARASOTA, Fla. -- A seventh-inning bullpen collapse sank the Pirates Monday, who lost to the Orioles, 12-3, at Ed Smith Stadium.
The game’s decision didn’t come in the seventh, though. It came in the fifth, and it went to Quinn Priester.
It was the Pirates’ top pitching prospect’s spring debut, and while he showed some of the greenness that one would expect from a 20-year-old, he flashed the stuff that has made him one of the fastest-rising prospects in the game.
“Certainly not what I was looking to do today, but good to get the first one out of the way,” Priester said. “I did some things well, more things not as well as I expect to here in the future, but it’s all a learning process. Need to get better from it and go from there.”
Priester’s inclusion on this year’s spring training roster is a product of the COVID-19 protocols. This year, teams were permitted to bring up to 75 players to camp, and minor-league spring training would not start until after the big team went north. Rather than have Priester wait at home, the Pirates decided to include him in their player pool, giving him a chance to get to know different coaches in the system, pick the brains of some veteran players, be more gradual in the build up to his workload for the season and, ideally, get to pitch in a game situation.
“We told him right away, ‘You’re not making the club,’ so I think it’s just a chance to see him,” Derek Shelton said before the game. “We talked early in the spring about how he would be later in the spring, just because of the fact that with his season there’s no sense of starting him early.”
It’s not surprising that Priester isn’t being considered to make the opening day team. In reality, he probably won’t make his major league debut for another two or three years.
But to pitch in a big league game...
“I’m sure there’s going to be some nerves for him,” Shelton said. “It’s just to get him around the group, to get him some exposure and let him feel what it’s like to wear a Pirates uniform on a big-league field.”
There were nerves, and there were some mistakes. A miss on a 3-2 breaking ball to open the inning. A slow motion to home to let the runner steal second. A balk to move him to third. The hit that gave the Orioles the lead for good was struck hard, but on the ground. Had the Pirates not had the infield in, it might have been an out.
In total, Priester pitched ⅔ of an inning, allowing that run on a walk and a hit. Those two outs came on a pop up on the infield and a grounder.
“It was good nerves,” Priester said, crediting catcher Jacob Stallings for helping him get through them. “I was super excited to get out there today. Having that first one under my belt, I think I’m going to look back on it in a few years and laugh about it, but definitely need to take advantage of mistakes that I’ve made in terms of getting better from them.”
While the results were mixed, the stuff was apparent. Priester hit 97 mph on the gun with his fastball and showed some serious movement with his curve.
Here he is getting a whiff with the fastball against Anthony Santander, a legitimate power hitter who had an .890 OPS last year for the Orioles:
And while he didn’t get the call on the following pitch, here’s a look at how his curve moves:
The curveball has been praised for years, with FanGraphs giving it 80-grade potential, the highest rating possible. On Monday, though, most of his curves were out of the zone, buried in the dirt, so he had to rely on his fastball more.
“Even behind in counts, in fastball counts, I was able to get outs with it, which is big for me,” Priester said. “So just building off of that, and then calming everything down to be able to land those offspeeds is going to make the fastball a lot better, minimize walks and those things. And that’s where it starts: Minimizing walks.”
Priester was pulled after four batters, with the Pirates not daring to go an inch outside of the plan they had for him. The threat of pitcher injuries is heightened this season after the shutdown last year. So with a slightly longer than usual chat once he got to the mound, Shelton took the ball from the pitcher who could one be the ace of his staff.
But Priester didn’t go hit the showers right away. He stuck around in the bullpen a couple more innings, soaking in the atmosphere. A first taste of what is to come.
Near the end of the Zoom call, Priester was asked how much this first appearance motivated him for the next, whenever that might be. After a slight pause and a smile, all Priester could say was, “A lot.”
“Like, a lot.”
MORE FROM THE GAME
• That seventh inning collapse came at the expense of Edgar Santana and Shea Spitzbarth, two players who had been terrific this spring.
Santana managed to only get one out, allowing five hits, including a home run, and a walk. Spitzbarth didn't do himself any favors by allowing two runs to score on wild pitches. He allowed two hits and a walk. Six of the eight runs were charged to Santana.
• Tyler Anderson also allowed some hard contact to start, serving up two home runs and a loud double in his four innings of work, but he got through his four innings with only two runs allowed, and also struck out seven.
Anderson thought the outing went better than the stat line would suggest, and that he feels better in terms of his stuff and mechanics.
"I first came out and I was still kind of in spring training, kind of feeling it out," he said. "You’re feeling the delivery, more feeling than really competing. Those last couple innings, it was just, ‘Let’s start throwing the ball and competing’ and kind of picked things up.”
• Ke'Bryan Hayes provided most of the Pirates' offense, homering in the first and adding an RBI single in the third.
Gregory Polanco also returned to the lineup after missing the last nine games. He left camp to go be with his wife as she gave birth to their son last week, and then had to go through the intake process again. He went 1-for-2 with a triple and a walk as the designated hitter.
• The Pirates went 3-for-3 on stolen base attempts -- with Adam Frazier, Bryan Reynolds and Erik Gonzalez swiping the bags, Hayes and Reynolds converted a successful hit-and-run in the third and the Pirates hit three triples. It was a losing effort, but more good work on the basepaths from the Pirates Monday. That has been a theme this spring.
• Before the game, Shelton was asked the closer question again, and while he didn't name names, he said he had five people who he thinks could be candidates.
"I have a general idea of who I want to pitch in leverage situations," Shelton said. "Some of it's up in the air, some of it’s pretty close to being determined."
On Sunday he and Oscar Marin had their first discussions about who the opening day starter could be. No decision has been made, but the decision process has begun.
• The Pirates are heading down to Fort Myers Tuesday to take on the Twins. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.
Chad Kuhl will make the start, followed by Wil Crowe, Sam Howard, Geoff Hartlieb, Sean Poppen and David Bednar. Jose Berrios will get the start for the Twins.
