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New Mock Draft from MLB Pipeline has the Pirates Selecting a High School Pitcher

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With only 17 days left until the first day of the 2019 MLB amateur draft, Jim Callis from MLB Pipeline took a shot at predicting the first round picks. He has the Pittsburgh Pirates selecting prep right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester with the 18th overall pick.

Priester is someone we covered here after Pipeline linked him with the Pirates two weeks ago. That link has a scouting report and video. The 18-year-old from Cary-Grove HS has a four-seam fastball that gets up to 96 MPH, sitting in the low-90s, with excellent control. His also has a two-seam fastball with plenty of sinking action and movement. His curveball sits in the high-70s and has a chance to be a plus pitch. He gets praise for his easy delivery and repeatable mechanics.

Yesterday we noted that the Pirates have interest in high school shortstop Gunnar Henderson. Callis has him going 14th overall to the Philadelphia Phillies in today’s mock draft. In the Fangraphs article in that link, they noted that the Pirates have interest in Priester, so it’s not only a pick we have heard in the past, it’s also someone who has gained their interest.

That link in the second paragraph has some great videos for Priester, but here’s a brand new one from Perfect Game Baseball

John Dreker
John Dreker
John started working at Pirates Prospects in 2009, but his connection to the Pittsburgh Pirates started exactly 100 years earlier when Dots Miller debuted for the 1909 World Series champions. John was born in Kearny, NJ, two blocks from the house where Dots Miller grew up. From that hometown hero connection came a love of Pirates history, as well as the sport of baseball. When he didn't make it as a lefty pitcher with an 80+ MPH fastball and a slider that needed work, John turned to covering the game, eventually focusing in on the prospects side, where his interest was pushed by the big league team being below .500 for so long. John has covered the minors in some form since the 2002 season, and leads the draft and international coverage on Pirates Prospects. He writes daily on Pittsburgh Baseball History, when he's not covering the entire system daily throughout the entire year on Pirates Prospects.

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