Analyst Believes Pirates Prospect Could Follow Paul Skenes' Path
The Pittsburgh Pirates took their time with Paul Skenes last season, letting him begin the year in Triple-A Indianapolis before calling him up in May.
Could Pittsburgh follow suit with its top prospect in the 2025 season?
MLB Pipeline's Jonathan Mayo predicted that Pittsburgh could take the same path with Bubba Chandler, who was ranked No. 15 in MLB Pipeline's prospect rankings. Mayo also said that he believes the Pirates will give Chandler a long look at potentially being the team's No. 5 starter heading into the 2025 season.
"Last year he reached Triple-A [and he] had plenty left in the tank," Mayo said. "Even if he doesn't start the year in the big league rotation, and I think they're going to give him a long look. We all saw what Paul Skenes did last year coming up in May and then pitching the rest of the way in Pittsburgh. I think Chandler is going to follow suit at some point in 2025."
Bubba Chandler. Chase DeLauter. Andrew Painter. Matt Shaw.@JonathanMayo, Dan O'Dowd, @jimcallisMLB and Greg discuss a few prospects they're most looking forward to watching in 2025.
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 24, 2025
Catch @MLBPipeline's Top 100 Prospects show at 7pm ET on MLB Network. pic.twitter.com/BKYtnZB5aI
Chandler went 10-7 with a 3.08 ERA in 26 appearances (23 starts) and struck out 148 batters over his 119 2/3 innings across Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis in 2024. He also held opposing hitters to a .189 batting average and posted a 1.02 WHIP. Chandler's game reached another level upon being called up to triple-A, as he went 4-0 with a 1.83 ERA in seven starts and struck out 54 batters in 39 1/3 innings.
Mayo also noted that Chandler may only be scratching the surface of his potential, as he was a two-sport athlete up until he was drafted by Pittsburgh. With Chandler continuing to improve, it may not be long before the Pirates have three of baseball's best young pitchers in their rotation.
"He hasn't even been pitching full time for that long since being drafted in 2021," Mayo said. "Each year, he's gotten better and better [and] learned his craft. It's an explosive fastball into the upper 90s [with] a lot of ride up in the zone. The slider is plus. He can fold in a slower curveball as well [and] the changeup has gotten better. That may be the last piece [and] the command has gotten better and better."
