Report: Cary-Grove grad Quinn Priester set to make MLB debut with Pittsburgh Pirates

Cary-Grove alumnus Quinn Priester is getting the call to the majors and will make his MLB debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Jason Mackey.

Priester, a 2019 Trojans graduate, will start against the Cleveland Guardians in Pittsburgh. He’ll join Pittsburgh after pitching with the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, where he started 18 games and compiled a 4.31 ERA, 84 strikeouts and a 7-3 record.

Priester was Pittsburgh’s No. 18 overall pick in the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft. The COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the regular minor league season for 2020 and Priester, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound righthander, was 7-4 with a 3.04 ERA and 98 strikeouts in 97 2/3 innings at Single-A Greensboro in 2021.

[ Cary-Grove graduate Quinn Priester heads to spring training with MLB debut possible this season ]

His 2022 season was delayed when Priester sustained an oblique strain on his left side on the final day of spring training. Priester started 19 games last year and rose from Single-A to Triple-A, earning a combined 3.29 ERA and 89 strikeouts over 90 ⅓ innings.

Priester was the Northwest Herald’s 2019 Baseball Player of the Year. He finished 8-2 for the season, with a 1.16 ERA and 91 strikeouts and 14 walks in 60 1/3 innings and was named the Gatorade Illinois Player of the Year. Priester was one of the Trojans’ best hitters that year, batting .323 with two homers and 23 RBIs.