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2019 MLB Draft Preview: Quinn Priester scouting report
The 2019 MLB Draft is just over five weeks away — the first round kicks off on June 3, 2019 — its time to start offering capsule looks at players the Texas Rangers could select with their top picks. The Rangers’ first round pick is at #8, their second round pick is at #50, and they have Milwaukee’s competitive balance pick, acquired in the Alex Claudio trade, which is #41.
Leading up to draft day, we will be doing writeups of some of the players who could end up getting selected by the Rangers with one of their first three picks. Today, we are looking at Illinois prep pitcher Quinn Priester.
Quinn Priester is a 6’3”, 190 lb. righthanded pitcher attending Cary-Grove High School in Cary, Illinois. He throws in the low-90s, and has a high spin rate curveball that is his primary secondary pitch. He’s described in one write-up as a “strike thrower” with repeatable arm action, and is seen as projectable and well-rounded. He is committed to TCU, though one would figure he is unlikely to land there if he goes in the first couple of rounds.
MLB Pipeline does not, in their current top 50, have him on their board. Fangraphs has him at #22 on their board and moving up. Baseball America has Priester at #38 on their board, up from #51 from their previous ranking, while Keith Law has him at #20.
BA’s most current mock draft doesn’t have Priester going in the first round, though 2080 Baseball has Priester slotted at #21 to the Braves.
When perusing the draft boards this week, Priester is a guy who jumped out at me as a potential Rangers target. He’s not a toolsy outfielder from Georgia, but he’s similar to recent top picks Cole Ragans and Cole Winn in that he isn’t a flamethrower, but he gets good marks for his ability to repeat his mechanics and his overall repertoire. And as a cold-weather arm, he has less mileage than some other guys.
Priester is someone I could see the Rangers either targeting at #8, if he continues to rise up on boards, or who alternatively I could see Texas offering significantly above-slot money to at #41 or #50, in the hopes that what they indicate to Priester they will give him to sign if he drops will be enough to get his bonus demands to the point where other teams in the 20s and 30s are leery of picking him.
Some video: