Prospects Mike Burrows, Quinn Priester share goal of finishing season pitching for the Pirates

Mike Burrows and Quinn Priester arrived at spring training with similar resumes — right-handed pitchers drafted out of high school and ranked among the Pittsburgh Pirates’ top 10 prospects — and the same end goal.

If they have to start the season as teammates in the minor leagues, they want to finish it together in the majors.

Neither Burrows nor Priester is shy about sharing their ambitions. They expect to pitch for Triple-A Indianapolis, only a phone call away from being promoted to the Pirates sometime this summer.

“This year, if I’m not in the big leagues, it’s definitely we’re going to look back on it and say, ‘Hey, what happened? We need to reassess,’ ” said Priester, 22. “Totally, I feel that I’m there. I feel like I have the ability to, and if I keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep getting better, obviously, there’s no stopping there. Regardless of that promotion or that call, that’s always going to continue. I feel really confident in what I can do, and that’s being a big league pitcher.”

Priester, the No. 17 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, was reassigned to the Pirates’ minor league camp Thursday afternoon. The 6-foot-3, 210-pounder didn’t give up a run and allowed one hit, one walk and hit one batter with one strikeout and a .143 batting average-against in two innings over two appearances this spring.

Burrows, selected in the 11th round in 2019, was added to the Pirates’ 40-man roster in the offseason. He has allowed two earned runs on four hits and one walk with one strikeout and a .308 batting average-against in three innings over two Grapefruit League games.

“So far what we’ve seen is two composed young dudes that we are very excited about,” Pirates pitching coach Oscar Marin said. “Reinforcing to these guys (to) recognize what you see in front of you is going to be a big thing. That’s the next step for any young pitcher. And that’s one of the messages we said: ‘We want you guys to take in as much (as you can), and that’s the recognition of things to being a complete pitcher.’ ”

The duo played together at High-A Greensboro in 2021 but missed each other last season. On the same day Priester returned to Altoona from an oblique strain, Burrows made his debut at Indianapolis. Entering the season, Priester is ranked the Pirates’ No. 4 prospect by MLB Pipeline and No. 5 by Baseball America, while Burrows is No. 9 by both.

“We’re both high school (drafted) guys, so I feel like I relate to him a lot in those terms, as far as move one level at a time throughout the minor leagues,” said Burrows, 23. “You do really well but nothing changes, and you feel like you’re kind of stuck. Mentally, the maturity there has grown a lot. It’s really good to see.”

That includes the development of new pitches. Burrows spent the offseason adding a slider to his fastball-curveball-changeup repertoire, getting a feel for the grip and working to land the location as a backdoor pitch with swing-and-miss potential against right-handed hitters.

“I have three pitches that have done really, really well for me, but I knew that adding that slider would add another look for righty purposes or even lefty purposes,” Burrows said. “I think having four pitches will be tremendously helpful, as far as being a starter goes. It’s going to help me get deeper into games, help me with matchups in certain situations.”

Priester focused on refining his pitches, trying to be more consistent on his backdoor two-seamer while working on his four-seam fastball command for more strikes and throwing his slider harder.

“I found some different ways to spin it,” said Priester, whose slider sat at 88 mph and touched 90. “That’s the proof there that the things I’m doing with the throwing program in the offseason, they are working. Always refining the lower half stuff but not worrying about it too much. I’m just going to go out and compete, throw your best stuff in the zone.”

It’s possible Burrows and Priester could be joined at Indianapolis by another top-10 prospect in Luis Ortiz, as well as Johan Oviedo, giving the Pirates starting pitching depth they previously lacked.

While there is rivalry to see who reaches the majors first, Burrows and Priester expressed appreciation for each other. Where Priester goes more by feel, Burrows is ultra-competitive and sticks to a strict regimen.

“His demeanor is always one of, I’m going to beat your (butt),” Priester said. “It’s just pretty impressive to watch. He goes about his work extremely confidently and is going to shove it up your butt. Every day, you know what you’re going to get. He’s a great teammate to have.

“Good or bad, Mike’s going to be the same guy. He’s very diligent and routine-oriented. Being able to see that, especially for me as someone who gets more relaxed and tries to change things a lot, Mike’s a guy from my perspective who’s very strict and trusting in his routine. When he goes on the mound, he’s just a competitor.”

Priester has the athleticism of a two-sport star — he played wide receiver on a state championship football team in high school — but what Burrows has noticed is the mental development he’s undergone as a professional pitcher with aspirations of moving up to the majors.

“Quinn’s awesome. He’s obviously a great player, a great pitcher,” Burrows said. “I think he’s getting mature as he progresses through, and he’s understanding what it takes. I find we had similar mindsets, as far as, ‘I’m doing really well. When’s the next time I go up?’ Once I got out of that mindset and started living in the moment, I felt like things went a lot smoother for me. I started diving in on day to day, rather than looking ahead. It’s so hard not to look ahead because you want to be up there so badly.”