The newest on Contreras, Priester’s work in Minors

This story was excerpted from Justice delos Santos’ Pirates Beat publication. To learn the complete publication, click on right here. And subscribe to get it usually in your inbox.

As John Baker leaned on the railing of the first-base dugout at Peoples Natural Gas Field, Paul Skenes was on the collective consciousness of the ten,164 followers — plus the handfuls of gamers, coaches, media and workers — who have been within the ballpark that night time. Skenes, although, wasn’t the one younger pitcher within the group whom Baker mentioned on that historic night time in Toon Town.

Prior to Skenes’ Double-A debut, Baker additionally mentioned Roansy Contreras and Quinn Priester, each of whom are presently with Triple-A Indianapolis, combating their means again to the Majors.

If nothing else, Contreras’ season has been eventful. To summarize:

April: Contreras has a 3.58 ERA and a pair of.95 FIP in 5 begins (27 2/3 innings).

May: Contreras has a 5.64 ERA and 6.67 FIP in his subsequent 4 begins (22 1/3 innings), then pitches out of the bullpen in his final look of the month.

June 2: Contreras re-joins the rotation after one aid outing and permits 5 earned runs and two dwelling runs in a four-inning begin.

June 7: Contreras is unable to complete the primary inning, permitting seven earned runs and recording one lone out.

June 14 to July 5: Contreras pitches out of the bullpen, and regardless of a number of good outings, he has a 9.75 ERA and seven.35 FIP throughout 12 innings.

Aug. 4: Contreras pitches two scoreless innings with Single-A Bradenton, his first recreation motion in roughly a month.

Aug. 8: Contreras is assigned from Single-A Bradenton to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Currently, Contreras is making common appearances for Indianapolis. In 4 video games (three begins) for Indianapolis, Contreras has allowed 5 earned runs throughout 16 innings (2.81 ERA) with 15 strikeouts, six walks and three dwelling runs allowed (5.48 FIP).

As vital as Contreras’ outcomes is his stuff, particularly his velocity. After averaging 95.6 mph on his four-seam fastball in ‘22, Contreras’ heater was right down to 94.3 mph in ‘23. During Contreras’ two aid outings in July, his four-seam fastball was right down to 93.8 mph.

In 4 begins with Indianapolis, Contreras’ four-seam fastball has averaged 92.8 mph, and he has but to the touch 95 mph (his single-hardest pitch has been 94.8 mph). Velocity just isn’t the be-all, end-all, particularly if Contreras is ready to higher make the most of his secondary pitches, however his heater will probably be value monitoring because the season winds down.

“We had the opportunity to do what’s best for the player, which was to put him around the people that spent a lot of time with him in 2021 to help him get mechanically sound,” Baker stated. “It’s not an arm thing with Ro. It’s about being in the right positions all the time and maintaining that over the course of the season. And so, having the opportunity to be able to send him down to the FCL and get him back trending in the right direction, we’re starting to see the velo start to tick up, which is the purpose of the movement.”

Major League hitters didn’t waste any time welcoming Priester to the large leagues.

In six begins with the Pirates, Priester allowed 29 earned runs throughout 28 2/3 innings. The drop in strikeout fee (8.62 Okay/9 earlier than his callup, 7.22 Okay/9 within the Majors) didn’t assist his trigger, however the actual killer was the spike in walks and residential runs. With Indianapolis (pre-promotion), Priester had a 3.59 BB/9 and 0.62 HR/9. In the Majors, Priester had a 5.65 BB/9 and a pair of.20 HR/9.

“Besides the oblique last year, he had never really run into any adversity,” Baker stated. “Pitcher of the Year last year and in ‘21, I think when he got called up he was the second-youngest pitcher in the International League. So again, somebody who is probably ahead of a traditional timeline. Going up into the big leagues, getting the real feedback of what is going to work in his game and what’s not working in his game, he’s already starting to make adjustments.”

One of these changes has been the incorporation of a cutter. Baseball Savant doesn’t monitor Priester as having thrown a cutter in his first two appearances again with Indianapolis, however Baker and normal supervisor Ben Cherington (per 93.7 The Fan) confirmed that he’s engaged on the pitch.

Priester additionally confirmed a noticeable uptick in his sinker velocity throughout his look this previous Friday. During his time with the Pirates, Priester’s sinker velocity averaged 92.7 mph. In his most up-to-date look, Priester’s sinker was as much as 94.7 mph.

“For Quinn, it’s mastering the execution of the fastball and getting that cutter consistent, and then taking what he learned from the big leagues and applying it,” Baker stated. “He’s already starting to do that in Indianapolis.”