Pirates Prospect Watch: Quinn Priester Pitches Gem

It hasn’t been smooth sailing for Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospect Quinn Priester so far this season at Triple-A Indianapolis, but he may have turned a corner on Thursday.

Entering play, Priester owned a 7.78 ERA across his first five starts of the season, but the right-hander tossed six scoreless frames in his sixth start.

Priester was one of a handful of Pirates’ prospects who shined on Thursday night as all four of the Pirates’ affiliates were in action.

Here are some of the notables as all four minor league teams were victorious.

Indianapolis (12-17)

RHP Quinn Priester

• Game stats: 6.0 innings, two hits, no runs, no walks, four strikeouts
• Season stats: 2-3, 5.96 ERA, 17er/25.2ip, 26 hits, nine walks, 29 strikeouts, six appearances/six starts

2B Aaron Shackelford

• Game stats: 3 for 4, one home run, one double, one RBI, two runs
• Season stats: .273/.410/.470, five doubles, one triple, two home runs, seven RBIs, three steals, 22 games

While Priester got it done on the mound, Shackelford helped to carry the Indianapolis’ offense in their 5-2 win over the Toledo Mudhens.

Pirates’ prospect Chavez Young doubled and drove in a pair while Ryan Vilade and Grant Koch were each on base twice.

Altoona (12-10)

DH Jacob Gonzalez

• Game stats: 1 for 3, one home run, two RBIs, one run, one walk
• Season stats: .271/.294/.396, two home runs, eight RBIs, 13 games

C Henry Davis

• Game stats:  1 for 2, one run, one walk, one hit by pitch, one steal
• Season stats: .284/.448/.597, one double, one triple, six home runs, 15 RBIs, five steals, 19 games

Gonzalez’s homer helped to lift Altoona to a 6-3 win over the Richmond Flying Squirrels. Davis reached base three times, each of them coming in different fashion, as he continues to impress this season.

The red-hot Liover Peguero had two more hits on the night while Pirates prospect Oliver Garcia improved to 2-0 on the year with two innings of scoreless relief.

Greensboro (14-9)

LF Hudson Head

• Game stats: 2 for 4, one RBI, one run
• Season stats: .271/.354/.514, four doubles, two triples, three home runs, nine RBIs, three steals, 19 games

3B Jackson Glenn

• Game stats: 1 for 2, one RBI, one run, two walks
• Season stats: .339/.432/.597, four doubles, four home runs, 16 RBIs, one steal, 18 games

Head had two hits and Glenn was on base three times as the Grasshoppers pulled out a one-run win over the Winston-Salem Dash by a score of 7-6.

Pirates prospect Tsung-Che Cheng legged out his fourth triple of the season while right-hander Braxton Ashcraft held Winston-Salem to one run in three innings.

Bradenton (15-9)

CF Shalin Polanco

• Game stats: 1 for 4, one home run, two RBIs, two runs, one walk
• Season stats: .189/.368/.340, two doubles, two home runs, seven RBIs, two steals, 15 games

RF Rodolfo Nolasco

• Game stats: 1 for 4, one home run, one RBI, two runs, one walk, one steal
• Season stats: .276/.364/.552, five doubles, one home run, six RBIs, one steal, eight games

Polanco and Nolasco’s homers helped ensure Bradenton was able to hold off the Tampa Tarpons 7-6.

On a rehab assignment, Pirates’ prospect Jared Triolo had two hits including a double. Jesus Castillo also doubled as part of a two-hit performance.