BRADENTON, Fla. — An iconic line from “Bull Durham” features some sage advice from catcher Crash Davis to pitcher Nuke LaLoosh. “Don’t think,” Davis tells the youngster. “It can only hurt the ball club.”
Although Pirates prospect Quinn Priester was still more than a dozen years from birth when one of the best baseball movies in history premiered, the 21-year-old pitcher tries to follow that same line of thinking.
“When I think,” Priester said Thursday at Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla., “I get myself into trouble.”
Priester is also wrong. Forget prospects. Few professional athletes period are as thoughtful and introspective as Priester, who should make friends fast in Pittsburgh.
Priester spoke with the Post-Gazette this season about how he loves to learn from failure. How he journals everything and adores diving deep into the nuance of pitching — movement, sequences and trying to mix efficiency with swing-and-miss.
Off the field, the Pirates’ first-round pick in 2019 has developed a hugely positive reputation among his fellow farmhands, who marvel at how he handles himself.
“He’s definitely a great guy to be around and learn from,” Tahnaj Thomas said.
In fact, it was Thomas who brought up one of Priester’s favorite habits, where he’ll keep an iPad with him in the dugout, toss on a pair of headphones and scour scouting reports that he compiled the night or morning before his start.
The first time Thomas witnessed this, it was striking.
“I was just looking at him like, ‘Dang, this is a kid,’” Thomas said.
Added Anthony Solometo: “There’s something different about Quinn.”
While the Cary, Ill., native (and frustrated Bears fan) said he actively avoids trying to throw his weight around — fearful teammates might think he has a huge ego — Priester also knows what he says and does matters.
That comes with his draft stock (18th overall), signing bonus ($3.4 million) and prospect ranking (second in the Pirates’ system behind Henry Davis, 49th in MLB).
“I don’t like to press my beliefs or what I think on anybody,” Priester said. “I like to lead by example. And when the time is right, if someone needs to say something, I’ll say it.
“But I understand there are going to be eyes on me, and people are going to make judgements. I just try to give them every reason to make good judgments about me and hopefully respect me as a player and as a person, as well.”
Priester, who sounds like Gerrit Cole and carries himself like a combination of Jameson Taillon and Joe Musgrove, has done an exemplary job with the off-field stuff. His work between the lines seems to be going pretty well, too.
Although Low-A Bradenton’s Adrian Florencio became the Pirates’ inaugural Bob Friend Minor League Pitcher of the Year, Priester wasn’t terribly far behind. He went 7-4 with a 3.04 ERA in 20 starts (97 2/3 innings) for High-A Greensboro, striking out 98 and walking 39.
Priester, who was named the High-A East League Pitcher of the Year and represented the Pirates at the All-Star Futures Game at Coors Field, led his league in ERA, batting average against (.225), WHIP (1.239) and winning percentage (.636).
Aside from results, Priester learned a lot about himself and what makes him successful — hence the lack of thinking.
Dating back to spring training, when he was invited to big league camp for the first time, Priester said he thought entirely too much. That extended into the season, when his revamped mechanics grew inconsistent, the pitcher not using his legs as much as he would like and giving up six earned runs over seven innings in his first two starts.
“I didn’t trust myself,” Priester said. “Now after a full season under my belt of learning, failing and learning and failing, over and over again, I’ve definitely developed a lot of trust in what I can do.”
That involves a couple different things for Priester, starting with clearing his mind. Before games, Priester will write out notes on opposing hitters, so he’s not searching for them during crunch time. The same with pregame meetings and his daily itinerary.
On the mound, Priester tries not think about mechanical tweaks, spin rates or how his pitches behave; the offseason is the perfect time for that, Priester believes. Not during a game.
“The things that make me good aren’t necessarily pitches or different things that I can do,” Priester said. “It’s more so holistic, I feel like what makes me good is that I compete and want to win more than the guy at the plate.
“I know the best thing I can do is not think. Just allow myself to be athletic and go compete.”
Priester did that as the season wore on. He developed a better feel for his slider, which he added during the COVID-19 shutdown, and learned how to manipulate his grip and thought process with the pitch so he doesn’t choke it and try to force it to break.
Combine Priester’s results with his advanced mental makeup, and there’s every reason to expect him to start in Class AA in 2022, then potentially advance to Class AAA if he enjoys a strong start.
Again being honest, Priester admitted that he has allowed himself to think about some of that stuff.
“With the way things look within the organization, there’s gonna be a lot of opportunity for young guys in the coming years,” Priester said. “I think everybody realizes that, and it pushes us. We just have to take advantage of it.”
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: December 9, 2021, 10:59 p.m.
