Greensboro Grasshoppers right-hander Quinn Priester, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ top pitching prospect who is ranked 49th overall by MLB Pipeline, was named High-A East League pitcher of the year.
The 21-year-old Priester, the Pirates’ 2019 first-round pick, went 7-4 with a 3.04 ERA and 1.24 WHIP with 98 strikeouts and 39 walks in 97 2/3 innings over 20 starts in his first full minor league season.
Priester becomes the first Pirates prospect to earn such honors since Tyler Glasnow was named the Florida State League’s most valuable pitcher with the Bradenton Marauders in 2014.
Priester also was named to the High-A East League postseason All-Star team as a right-handed starter. Priester led all High-A East League pitchers in ERA (3.04), batting average against (.225), home runs allowed per nine innings (0.74), WHIP (1.24) and winning percentage (.636) while finishing tied for second in games started (20), third in innings pitched (97.2) and tied for eighth in wins (seven).
In addition to Priester’s honors, Pirates prospect Matt Fraizer was named the High-A East League’s MVP.
The 23-year-old was ranked first in the High-A East League in hits (95), total bases (175), slugging (.578), OPS (.979) and runs (64), tied for first in home runs (20) and extra base hits (37) and second in on-base percentage (.401) at the time he was promoted from Greensboro to Double-A Altoona on Aug. 5.
Second baseman Nick Gonzales, the Pirates No. 1 draft pick in 2020, and third baseman Jared Triolo, the team’s Competitive Balance B-round selection in 2019, also were named to the league’s postseason All-Star team.
The Double-A Northeast League also announced it’s postseason all-star team, and shortstop Oneil Cruz and first baseman Mason Martin were selected.
