Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Posts quality start in no-decision
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Chandler didn't factor into the decision Friday against the Rockies after tossing six innings of two-run ball, allowing six hits and walking two while striking out one.
Chandler recorded a quality start for the first time since April 17, and this was just the second time all season that he's pitched six complete frames. He seems to be trending in the right direction. After posting a 4.70 ERA across five outings and 23 innings in May, Chandler has given up two earned runs in each of his last three starts and owns a 4.09 ERA in four starts (22 innings) in June. He's slated to make his next start at home against the Mariners.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Working behind opener Sunday
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Chandler is slated to work behind opener Mason Montgomery versus Atlanta on Sunday, Jason Mackey of MLB.com reports.
Chandler functioned as the starter in each of his first 12 outings this year, but the Pirates will see how he fares behind an opener. The 21-year-old hasn't tossed more than five innings since April 17 versus Tampa Bay, so coming in after Montgomery could help him turn the ball over to the bullpen a little deeper into the game. Of course, it will also prevent Chandler from being eligible for a quality start, but he's delivered only one such outing this season.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Earns second win Tuesday
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Chandler (2-6) earned the win Tuesday against the Astros, allowing four runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks while striking out three over five innings.
After allowing a leadoff single in the first inning, Chandler quickly fell behind when Yordan Alvarez launched a two-run homer to give Houston an early advantage. The right-hander continued to work through traffic throughout the outing but managed to avoid any additional crooked numbers. Since the start of May, he has allowed 15 earned runs across 28 innings while posting a 25:16 K:BB. Chandler is currently tied for the MLB lead in walks with 38 and owns an alarming 15.3 percent walk rate this season. Overall, he carries a 4.89 ERA, 1.51 WHIP and 55:38 K:BB across 57 innings and is slated to face Atlanta in his next start.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Plenty of traffic in no-decision
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Chandler took a no-decision Wednesday against the Cubs, allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out five.
Chandler faced constant pressure from the Chicago bats, tossing a lone clean inning on the evening, but he at least managed to settle down a bit after the Cubs ambushed him for a pair of runs in the opening frame. The 23-year-old right-hander has consistently struggled to work deep into outings, throwing at least six innings on just one occasion so far while walking multiple hitters in nine of his 11 appearances. Chandler will carry a disappointing 4.85 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and 52:36 K:BB across 52 innings into his next scheduled start in Houston against the Astros.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Continues piling up free passes
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Chandler (1-5) took the loss Saturday against the Phillies, allowing five runs (four earned) on three hits and four walks in three innings. He struck out two.
Chandler hasn't been able to sharpen his control consistently in 2026, having now issued at least three free passes in six of his first nine starts of the season. Saturday was the hard-throwing right-hander's shortest outing of the year, and he also fanned a season-low two. Although Chandler has held his opponents to a .213 batting average, he's set to bring a 5.14 ERA, 1.52 WHIP and an alarming 36:31 K:BB over 42 innings into a matchup with the Blue Jays.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Struggles with control in loss
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Chandler (1-3) took the loss Wednesday against the Cardinals, allowing three runs on three hits and four walks in five innings. He struck out six.
Although Chandler gave up only three hits and tied a season high in punchouts, each knock went for extra bases Wednesday. Control remained an issue as well for the hard-throwing right-hander, who issued multiple walks for the fifth time in six starts this season. Chandler has a disappointing 4.97 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 27:20 K:BB over 29 innings, and he'll be looking for better command in his next scheduled outing in Arizona.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Strikes out four over 5.1 innings
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Chandler didn't factor into the decision Sunday against the Cubs, allowing three runs on five hits and two walks with four strikeouts across 5.1 innings.
Chandler struck out Seiya Suzuki to lead off the bottom of the sixth inning, and his afternoon was done at 91 pitches. Hunter Barco closed out the sixth, and Chandler was in line for the win before the bullpen imploded late. Chandler's stuff was electric Sunday, but he was hurt by the long ball on a day the wind was gusting out to center field. Chandler served up a pair of solo shots to Dansby Swanson and Moises Ballesteros in the third inning. Chandler is still looking for his first win of the season and now owns a 3.86 ERA and 14:12 K:BB across 14 innings. Command has obviously been a problem. Chandler is in line to face the Rays at home Friday.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Struggles to locate fastball
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Chandler allowed four earned runs while walking four and striking out two across 1.2 innings in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees.
Chandler retired the Yankees in order in the first inning but walked four of the six batters he faced in the second frame. He ultimately threw only 14 of his 35 pitches for strikes, a concerning data point given his struggles to find the zone consistently with Triple-A Indianapolis in 2025. However, per Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Chandler purposefully lowered his velocity after topping 100 mph, which caused him to lose his attacking mentality and become erratic with his pitch placement.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Finishes debut season with win
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Chandler (4-1) earned the win against Atlanta on Saturday, allowing one run on four hits and no walks with six strikeouts over 5.2 innings.
Despite throwing just 50 of 86 pitches for strikes, Chandler didn't issue a walk for the third straight start and generated 13 whiffs en route to his second consecutive win. Over his final three outings, the 23-year-old allowed only two earned runs with a stellar 19:0 K:BB. He'll finish his debut campaign with a 4.02 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 31:4 K:BB across 31.1 major-league innings.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Posts best MLB outing to date
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Chandler allowed one run on two hits and no walks while striking out seven batters over six innings in a no-decision against Washington on Saturday.
Chandler was crushed in his first big-league start last Sunday, but he was given another turn in the rotation and took full advantage of the opportunity. The rookie right-hander didn't allow the Nationals to get a runner on base until the sixth inning, but Pittsburgh didn't score until the eighth, so Chandler had to settle for a no-decision. Nonetheless, this was by most measures his best outing in a Pirates uniform, as he logged a career-best six innings, 18 whiffs and seven punchouts. Chandler almost certainly cemented his place in the rotation for what's left of the season, and he lines up to face the Athletics at home late next week.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Awarded another start
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Chandler is slated to start Saturday's game against the Nationals in Washington.
After turning in a shiny 2.25 ERA and 0.83 WHIP over 12 innings across three bulk-relief appearances to begin his time in the big leagues, Chandler was handed his first MLB start this past Sunday against the Brewers. The 22-year-old righty was handily knocked around by the NL Central leaders, lasting just 2.2 innings in a 10-2 loss while yielding nine earned runs on nine hits and three walks. Despite the wretched outing, Chandler will be deployed as a starter once again Saturday, though another poor showing could prompt the Pirates to shift him back to his prior bulk-relief role.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Making first MLB start Sunday
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Pirates manager Don Kelly said that Chandler will start Sunday's game against Milwaukee at PNC Park, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.
Chandler's first three major-league outings have come in bulk relief, with each lasting exactly four innings. He posted a 2.25 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 9:1 K:BB while going 2-0 with one save in those appearances. Chandler threw 65 pitches -- his most to date as a big leaguer -- in his most recent outing Tuesday against the Dodgers, so he may not be tasked with a full starter's workload Sunday. He'll be going up against another flamethrowing rookie in Milwaukee's Jacob Misiorowski.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Nabs second win
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Chandler (2-0) picked up the win Tuesday over the Dodgers, giving up three runs on six hits over four relief innings in a 9-7 victory. He struck out three without walking a batter.
Entering the game in the third inning to piggyback Carmen Mlodzinski once again, Chandler racked up an impressive 22 called or swinging strikes on only 50 pitches (34 total strikes), but he also served up his first two homers in the majors, getting taken deep by Shohei Ohtani and Andy Pages. Through his first three appearances with the Pirates, Chandler has lasted exactly four innings each time, producing a 2.25 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 9:1 K:BB. If the Bucs maintain that piggyback arrangement, the duo will be lined up to take the mound again this weekend at home against the Brewers -- setting up a potential marquee matchup of flame-throwing rookies between Chandler and Jacob Misiorowski.
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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
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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
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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: Garners spring invite
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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
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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
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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
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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.
