Joey Ricotta | June 3rd, 2019
Quinn Priester, RHP (Cary-Grove H.S.)
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 190 pounds
Age: 18
MLB Pipeline Grades: 60 Fastball | 60 Curveball | 50 Changeup | 50 Control | 50 Overall
Commitment: TCU
Quinn Priester was born on Sept. 15, 2000, in Glendale Heights, Illinois. The Cary, Illinois native played wide receiver and defensive back for Cary-Grove Community H.S. but that’s not what he is receiving a ton of recognition for and it isn’t what might make him millions of dollars. Priester is a power arm right-handed pitcher who has drawn much attention from scouts. He was asked to and participated in many showcases, including the Perfect Game All-American Classic. He’s committed to TCU but a nice first round draft pick might be able to sway him from going there.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h8OJSQbcAA]
Strengths
Priester has improved his velocity this season. He is a three-pitch pitcher at this point but throws two variations of the fastball. He has nice rise on his four-seam fastball, touching 97 MPH. Also throws a two-seam fastball that sits between 88-92 MPH with good horizontal and downward movement. Very good curveball with nice spin and good break to it. Works more like an 11 to 5 breaking ball. He seems to have nice and easy repeatable mechanics. Very little wasted movement in his windup and delivery.
Weaknesses
Command. Most high school pitchers struggle with it and Priester is no exception. He has decent control, but that needs to be more finely tuned if he is going to develop into a force to be reckoned with in the big leagues. He also needs to better develop a third pitch. The changeup might have potential but it isn’t up to par yet. Being a high school pitcher, he will take longer to develop which is another negative.
Overview
Quinn Priester has tremendous life to both of his fastballs and his curveball. The TCU commit’s stock seems to be on the rise. Many scouts and agents have been raving about how he is looking on the mound. Just a couple of months ago, he was still projected to be picked in the early second round of the draft. The velocity increase, good mechanics, and overall life on his pitches make him one of the best high school power pitchers in the draft.
Draft Prediction: Round 1 Pick 18, Pittsburgh Pirates
Priester has been mocked here by a ton of different outlets. Not to follow blindly behind them, there is a reason he is being mocked here. The Pirates love taking chances on high school pitchers. Three of their last five first-round selections have been prep arms, including Nick Lodolo in 2016 who didn’t sign with the Pirates. Instead, he decided to go to TCU and raise his draft stock higher this year. Lodolo should be selected before the Pirates go to make their choice. It’s funny how life works. Quinn Priester is also a TCU commit. The same thing that happened in 2016 could happen again to the Pirates. Either way, I think this is where Priester will land or at least be drafted.
Check out our other draft profiles: Andrew Vaughn | Will Wilson | Jackson Rutledge | Hunter Bishop | JJ Bleday | Kameron Misner | Logan Davidson| Seth Johnson | Bobby Witt Jr. | Josh Jung|Adley Rutschman |Daniel Espino|Nick Lodolo|Kody Hoese| Matthew Allan|C.J. Abrams| Riley Greene|Corbin Carroll|Bryson Stott| Shea Langeliers|Brett Baty| Alek Manoah|Braden Shewmake|Brennan Malone|Jack Leiter | George Kirby | Zack Thompson
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