Priester, Indiana native Gorski Headline Prospects Promoted to Indy

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Indians, in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Pirates, announced today that the No. 47 prospect in Minor League Baseball, right-handed pitcher Quinn Priester (MLB Pipeline, Pirates No. 3) and No. 100 prospect, catcher Endy Rodriguez (No. 6), along with infielder Malcom Nunez (No. 12) and Fishers, Ind. native and Indiana University product, outfielder Matt Gorski (No. 22) have been promoted from Double-A Altoona to Indianapolis. They will also be joined in making their Triple-A debuts by right-handed pitcher Colin Selby and infielder Aaron Shackelford.

Priester, 22, began the season on the 7-day injured list (oblique) but bounced back in a big way for the Curve. After making rehab appearances with Single-A Bradenton and High-A Greensboro, his Double-A career officially began on June 19. In 15 starts with Altoona, Pittsburgh’s top pitching prospect went 4-4 with a 2.87 ERA (24er/75.1ip), 75 strikeouts and 1.19 WHIP.

In his first full professional season in 2021, Priester led Greensboro and High-A East qualifiers with a 3.04 ERA (33er/97.2ip), 1.24 WHIP and .225 average against in 20 starts. He also ranked among league leaders in games started (T-2nd), innings pitched (3rd), wins (T-8th, 7) and strikeouts (10th, 98).

The Glendale Heights, Ill. native was selected by Pittsburgh as the 18th overall pick of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of Cary-Grove (Ill.) High School.

Rodriguez, 22, has impressed at both Greensboro (88 games) and Altoona (31) this season. He currently leads all Pirates farmhands with 87 RBI, a .580 slugging percentage, .986 OPS, 138 total hits, 37 doubles, 64 extra-base hits, 253 total bases and 90 runs scored. He also ranks among organizational leaders in average (2nd, .317), home runs (T-2nd, 24), on-base percentage (5th, .406) and walks (5th, 60). Since being promoted from Greensboro to Altoona on Aug. 9, he hit .356 (42-for-118) with a .678 slugging percentage and 1.120 OPS.

Defensively, the catcher owns a .993 fielding percentage (five errors in 702 total chances) over 623.0 innings behind the dish this season. He has thrown out 31.5 percent of baserunners trying to steal (29 caught stealing in 92 attempts), a rate that improved over 21 starts at catcher in Double-A. Among Eastern League catchers with at least 175.0 innings, Rodriguez has the second-best caught-stealing percentage at 45.5 (10 caught stealing in 22 attempts).

Rodriguez, a native of Santiago, Dominican Republic, was originally signed by New York (NL) as a non-drafted free agent in 2018. He was traded to the Pirates from the Mets in a three-team, seven-player deal that saw left-handed pitcher Joey Lucchesi go from San Diego to New York (NL), right-handed pitcher Joe Musgrove go from Pittsburgh to San Diego, and right-handed pitchers David Bednar and Drake Fellows, left-handed pitcher Omar Cruz and outfielder Hudson Head go from San Diego to Pittsburgh.

Nunez, 21, split the season between Double-A Springfield (85 games) and Altoona (29) with a .263 average (106-for-403), 71 runs scored, 16 doubles, 22 home runs and 87 RBI – tied for sixth among Double-A leaders this season. Since joining the Curve on Aug. 2, Nunez’s average improved to .286 (30-for-105) with 20 runs scored and 21 RBI.

The slugger was traded from St. Louis to Pittsburgh on Aug. 2 with right-handed pitcher Johan Oviedo in exchange for southpaw Jose Quintana and right-hander Chris Stratton. He was originally signed as a non-drafted free agent on July 3, 2018.

Gorski, 24, appeared in just 80 games between Bradenton (five), Greensboro (37) and Altoona (38) this season after being sidelined with a quad injury on June 30. Across all three levels, he hit .278 (79-for-284) with 24 home runs and 20 stolen bases. At the time of his injury, he led all Pirates minor leaguers with 23 home runs – 11 more than anyone else – 60 RBI, a .664 slugging percentage, 1.039 OPS, 37 extra-base hits, 156 total bases and 56 runs scored.

The former Indiana Hoosier is no stranger to playing at Victory Field, appearing at the downtown Indianapolis ballpark on April 23, 2019 as the starting center fielder for the Hoosiers against Ball State. In that game, he went 2-for-5 with a double and RBI.

A 2016 graduate of Hamilton Southeastern High School, Gorski was selected by Pittsburgh in the second round (57th overall) of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft.

Selby, 24, made 26 appearances (one start) for Altoona and went 2-2 with eight saves in 10 opportunities, a 2.20 ERA (8er/32.2ip) and 41 strikeouts. He was selected by Pittsburgh in the 16th round (474th overall) of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of Randolph Macon College (Ashland, Va.).

Shackelford, 25, ranked among Eastern League leaders with 26 home runs (T-3rd), a .499 slugging percentage (4th), 79 RBI (5th) and 50 extra-base hits (T-6th) in 110 games with Altoona. He was selected by Pittsburgh in the 14th round (424th overall) of the 2019 First-Year Player Draft out of The Master’s University (Santa Clarita, Calif.).