Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Nabs four-inning save in debut
Rotowire
Chandler recorded the save in Friday's 9-0 win over the Rockies, allowing two hits over four scoreless relief innings. He struck out three without walking a batter.
The 22-year-old right-hander had trouble with his control at times in Triple-A Indianapolis this season, but Chandler was dialed in during his big-league debut Friday, firing 29 of 40 pitches for strikes while piggybacking Braxton Ashcraft in a combined shutout. Chandler topped out at 100.4 miles per hour with his four-seam fastball and reached triple digits with his final pitch of the night as well, highlighting his impressive upside. The Pirates could move him into the rotation as some point down the stretch, but Chandler is just as likely to get his feet wet in a bulk-relief role for the rest of 2025 before competing for a starting job next spring.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Will be promoted to pitch in relief
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The Pirates will select Chandler's contract from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday and are expected to use him in a long-relief role, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Chandler's long-awaited arrival to the majors will finally occur, though it won't be in the role fantasy managers were hoping for. Alex Stumpf of MLB.com likens the Pirates' expected usage of Chandler down the stretch to how they've deployed Braxton Ashcraft, who pitched as a multi-inning reliever before moving into the rotation earlier this month. It will be difficult for Chandler to churn out fantasy value in such a role, unless his ascension to the rotation occurs much quicker than Ashcraft's. Chandler has had an up-and-down season with Indianapolis, collecting a 4.05 ERA and 121:53 K:BB over an even 100 innings. He holds a 7.79 ERA and 17:12 K:BB across 17.1 frames in his last four outings with the Pirates' top minor-league affiliate.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Looking ready at Triple-A
Rotowire
Chandler gave up one run on three hits and one walk while striking out nine in five innings Thursday for Triple-A Indianapolis.
The three hits Chandler gave up were actually a season high, and he hasn't walked more than one batter in four straight starts, so he is pretty clearly ready for the next level. His nine strikeouts Thursday were a season high, and his five innings matched his season high, so it's possible Chandler's next start will come in Pittsburgh's rotation. That said, if Chandler were to stay on schedule, he'd need to bump one of Paul Skenes or Mitch Keller back a day, or Skenes would need to be pushed up a day to pitch on four days' rest after his worst start of the year, so the schedule doesn't line up perfectly for Chandler's entrance into the rotation.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Looks big-league ready
Rotowire
Chandler threw four scoreless innings, allowing one hit and walking two while striking out eight in Tuesday's start with Triple-A Indianapolis.
Chandler stumbled a bit in his first start with Indianapolis when he worked only 2.2 innings Thursday. However, he rebounded Tuesday while ramping up to 61 pitches. There's no timeline for Chandler to make his way to Pittsburgh, but he should contribute relatively early on in the campaign.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Reassigned to MiLB camp
Rotowire
Chandler was reassigned to minor-league camp Thursday.
Chandler entered spring training with a shot at winning a spot in the Pirates' Opening Day rotation, but he appears destined to open the 2025 season in the minors. Pittsburgh's top pitching prospect, Chandler made three appearances this spring, allowing five earned runs on four walks and three hits across 2.1 innings, while striking out a pair. Chandler seems likely to make his MLB debut at some point this year.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Garners spring invite
Rotowire
The Pirates have extended Chandler an invitation to big-league camp during spring training.
Fellow top prospects Konnor Griffin, Thomas Harrington and Termarr Johnson also received spring training invites from the Pirates. Chandler appears the most ready of that group to help the major-league club in 2025, perhaps even as a member of its Opening Day rotation. The 22-year-old posted a 3.08 ERA and 148:41 K:BB over 119.2 innings between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis in 2024, including a 1.75 ERA and 61:15 K:BB in his final 46.1 frames.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Promoted to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Pirates promoted Chandler from Double-A Altoona to Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
In 18 appearances at Double-A this season (15 starts), Chandler has posted a 3.93 ERA and 1.05 WHIP alongside an 87:26 K:BB through 73.1 innings. Regarded as the Pirates' top pitching prospect, the 21-year-old righty will most likely spend the remainder of the 2024 campaign in Triple-A and look to crack the big-league rotation at some point in '25.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Throws side session
Rotowire
Chandler (forearm) threw a side session Friday, MLB.com reports.
Despite the injury being termed a forearm issue, the Pirates insisted that Chandler was placed on the 7-day injured list as a precaution. The team's description of the issue appears to be accurate, however, as his side session came only five days after being placed on the injured list and the expectation is that he will return to game action soon.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Treading water at Double-A
Rotowire
Chandler has a 4.13 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 29 strikeouts and 13 walks in 24 innings across seven appearances for Double-A Altoona.
Chandler has a 3.72 FIP and 3.70 xFIP, so he's been perfectly fine in a return to Double-A after making one start there to close 2023. The former two-way prospect has logged four-plus innings in three of his seven outings, as he has struggled to be efficient thus far (13 percent walk rate). He is the fifth-youngest pitcher with 20-plus innings at Double-A and turns 22 in September.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Turns corner at High-A
Rotowire
Chandler has a 2.57 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 49 strikeouts in 49 innings over his last nine starts for High-A Greensboro.
Chandler got an 11-day gap between starts in early-July and just took 10 days in between his Aug. 22 start and his most recent start Sept. 2, as Pittsburgh carefully monitors the former two-way player's first season focusing solely on pitching. The hard-throwing 20-year-old righty has a very high ceiling and has turned a corner at High-A after logging a 6.63 ERA and 1.89 WHIP in his first 57 innings this season.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Focusing on pitching in 2023
Rotowire
Chandler was told by the Pirates on Monday that he will work exclusively as a pitcher this year, Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com reports.
Chandler was selected as a two-way player in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft, but the Pirates want him to focus solely on his mound work in 2023 after he struggled to a .184/.284/.290 batting line in 32 games (88 plate appearances) last summer at Low-A Bradenton. He posted a 2.61 ERA with 60 strikeouts in 41.1 innings between Bradenton and the rookie-level Florida Coast League.
