Quinn Priester, who is 'a little bigger,' looked strong in Grapefruit League debut; option to replace ailing Sox' righty in rotation
The Red Sox are opening spring training with more pitching depth than in recent memory, which will help them navigate around injuries over the course of the season.
With starters Kutter Crawford (right knee) and Brayan Bello (right shoulder) banged up and dealing with issues early on, it should open the door for others to seize that brass ring and potentially make the Opening Day roster.
Quinn Priester, who has impressed manager Alex Cora and others early on in camp, opened the Red Sox Grapefruit League calendar on the mound against the Rays on Saturday afternoon.
The righty went two innings, giving up two hits, surrendering one run, and allowing one walk with no strikeouts in his spring debut. Priester focused on making adjustments since joining the Sox’ organization, adding more velocity to his pitches, size to his frame, and improving his pitching mechanics.
One change for Priester is he’s keeping the baseball closer to his ear in his delivery.
“That helps with just some longevity stuff,” Priester said to reporters following the Sox’ win on Saturday. “It helps my body move a little bit better and keeps the arm connected to the body. And then that kind of translated to some velocity immediately. Now I am trying to keep doing that and be consistent with that every day.”
After he was acquired from the Pirates ahead of the trade deadline, Priester immediately was sent to Triple-A Worcester, where he was able to work with pitching coach Dan DeLucia and began to change his grips on pitches and change the shape of his pitches.
He was also tasked with adding more size as a goal on his development plan. Priester added about 15 pounds of muscle this season and looks noticeably different in camp. His new size should help with the traditional wear and tear pitchers go through over the course of a full 162-game season.
“I’m a little bigger, that’s for sure,” Priester said. “I’m just trying to translate that to the mound and also trying to throw a little bit harder. I added in a cutter, which I think is really getting off the barrels of those lefties. And then ultimately, just going out there and competing and seeing what that mix is going to look like as we continue to get better.”
If Crawford is unable to break camp and head to Texas with the club on the 26-man Opening Day roster, Priester is a viable option to secure a spot in the rotation. Others will get their chances, including Cooper Criswell and Richard Fitts, but Priester set the initial bar on Saturday with his work in camp and is one to watch as the Sox navigate Crawford’s nagging knee issue.
