BREAKING: Pirates Promoting Bubba Chandler, Not as Starter Initially
Bubba Chandler had to wait longer than expected to receive his big-league promotion, but the call finally happened. The Pirates are selecting the contract of Chandler ahead of Friday’s game against the Colorado Rockies at PNC Park, a source confirmed to Pittsburgh Baseball Now. Chandler will pitch in a bulk relief role initially, but he will have opportunities to start games this season.
Chandler is considered the Pirates’ second-best prospect, the seventh-best prospect overall and the top pitching prospect in the league, according to MLB Pipeline’s rankings.
The 22-year-old has spent the season with Triple-A Indianapolis, where he went 5-6 with a 4.05 ERA across 24 starts. In 100 innings, Chandler allowed 95 hits, walked 53 and struck out 121 batters.
It was a strong start to the season for the right-hander. Chandler who was named the International League Pitcher of the Month for April after going 1-0 with a 1.33 ERA while holding opponents to just seven hits and striking out 27 batters in 20.1 innings. After following April with a strong May, Chandler began to scuffle in June.
Chandler totaled 12.2 innings across five June starts and was charged with 12 earned runs while walking 12 batters. He followed an ugly June with a more-respectable 4.05 ERA in July but has struggled again in August.
In three starts this month, Chandler went 0-2 with a 7.50 ERA (10er/12ip) with command still proving to be an issue (eight walks). He yielded 20 hits and struck out 15.
The Pirates originally drafted Chandler as a two-way player out of high school in Georgia, but he began to focus solely on pitching after the 2022 season. The Pirates signed Chandler to an overslot deal valued at $3 million to pry him away from playing baseball and football at Clemson University.
In four seasons in the Pirates’ organization, Chandler is 26-18 with a 3.73 ERA in 89 appearances/83 and 457 strikeouts in 372 innings starts across five levels.
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