Pittsburgh Pirates add Quinn Priester to spring training non-roster invitees

Cary-Grove graduate is a quick-rising prospect after being taken with the 18th overall pick in the 2019 draft

Quinn Priester will be preparing with the Pirates’ major leaguers when spring training begins. The Pirates named Priester one of their 26 non-roster invitees to spring training, the team announced Tuesday.

The 20-year-old Cary-Grove graduate, who was the 18th overall pick in the 2019 draft, has continued to impress the Pirates, despite Priester not playing a real season in 2020.

After a successful first season in the minor leagues in 2019, Priester spent much of his spring and summer in limbo because of the coronavirus pandemic. With the minor league baseball season canceled in 2020, Priester was far from the only one.

After MLB returned in late July, Priester eventually earned a spot at the Pirates’ alternate training site in September. He also participated in the fall instructional league as well, where he touched 99 miles per hour with his fastball.

MLB named him the No. 52-overall prospect in baseball in its annual top 100 prospects list.

Pitchers and catchers typically report for spring training in mid-February. The season is moving ahead as scheduled with the news earlier this week that the MLB Players Association had rejected the league’s proposal to delay spring training and the start of the 2021 season.