Bubba Chandler Promoted to Double-A Altoona

The Pittsburgh Pirates have promoted right-handed pitching prospect Bubba Chandler to Double-A Altoona. The club drafted Chandler, 20, as a two-way player out of high school in the third round of the 2021 draft.

They kicked the tires on Chandler’s two-way ability last season, allowing him to play shortstop in addition to pitching, but made an executive decision during Spring Training for him to focus solely on pitching. Chandler said in August that he hated the move at first, and it made an impact on the field as the young pitcher worked to an ERA north of six in the first half of the season.

He eventually came to terms with the move, turning in a 1.87 ERA since the Minor Leagues’ All-Star Break. He’ll make his final start of the season on Friday, September 8, as the Double-A season wraps up the following week.

Chandler stands 6-foot-2 and possesses a traditional starter’s arsenal with a high-90s fastball along with a curveball, changeup and slider. The Pirates No. 7 overall prospect, Bubba Chandler possesses a big league ETA of 2025.

Additionally, outfielder Jase Bowen was also promoted to Altoona while Matt Gorski was bumped up a level to Triple-A Indianapolis.

Bowen was second in the South Atlantic League with 23 home runs on the season and drove in a league-best 88 runs.

The 23-year-old hit .247 with an .802 OPS in 110 games for the Greensboro Grasshoppers.

Gorski played in 93 games for Altoona this season and slashed .238/.296/.437 with 16 doubles, two triples, 17 home runs and 54 RBIs. The 25-year-old also stole 19 bases.