Quinn Priester struggled in his first six starts with the Pittsburgh Pirates, as the 22-year-old right-hander recorded a 9.10 ERA and 1.92 WHIP since being promoted to the major leagues on July 17.
His next start will be in the minors.
The Pirates opened a spot in their starting rotation Tuesday, when they optioned Priester, one of their top pitching prospects, to Triple-A Indianapolis. They recalled right-handed reliever Yohan Ramirez, who is 1-0 with a 4.25 ERA and 1.48 WHIP in 29⅔ innings over 23 appearances this season with the Pirates.
Priester allowed at least one run in each of the five innings he pitched and gave up a pair of home runs in Monday’s 7-2 loss at the New York Mets. He gave up six runs on seven hits and three walks in five innings. Afterward, Pirates manager Derek Shelton was asked what he would tell Priester.
“It’s going to be a conversation,” Shelton said on the AT&T SportsNet postgame show, “probably a review of the tape of just like, ‘Hey, we can’t leave balls over the middle of the plate to people.’”
Priester, ranked the Pirates’ No. 6 prospect by MLB Pipeline, is the second top-10 prospect to be optioned to Indy after struggling with the Pirates. Second baseman Nick Gonzales, ranked No. 7, was optioned Aug. 3 after batting .216 in 31 games.
After the game, which dropped his record to 2-2, Priester said he believed he was close to turning the corner.
“I feel that way every day, man. Seriously,” Priester said. “The work we’ve been putting in day-in, day-out, the things people aren’t seeing has been awesome. I’ve been really, really happy with the work I’ve been putting in, the work we’ve been doing as a staff. It just hasn’t quite translated into the result yet. I know that we’re close. I’ve just got to keep my head down, keep working hard, keep getting those things and the result’s going to come.
“I just know what type of player I can be. I see that every day. That’s why having outings like this is super frustrating, because I know it’s not the type of player I am.”
