Former GM Believes Pirates' Top Prospect Has 'Enormous Ceiling'
Few prospects have more buzz surrounding them than Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed pitcher Bubba Chandler.
Chandler (No. 15) landed in MLB Pipeline's top 100 prospects rankings for the second-straight season. After dominating at Triple-A Indianapolis last season, former Colorado Rockies general manager Dan O'Dowd (1999-2014) sung the praises of Chandler and believes he isn't far off from arriving in Pittsburgh.
"Look at how loose and free he is over the rubber and how his ball just explodes out," O'Dowd said on MLB Network. "He's got great vertical ride on his fastball. He's got a plus slider. I do feel like the change-up is going to need to continue to get better to really neutralize the better left-hand hitters. Strike-throwing ability [in] the second half of the year got a lot better. Just an enormous ceiling on this young man and he's real close."
Chandler was one of four Pirates players to make MLB Pipeline's list, as he was joined by shortstop/outfielder Konnor Griffin (No. 43), right-handed pitcher Thomas Harrington (No. 80) and second baseman Termarr Johnson (No. 83). Pirates right-handed pitching prospect Braxton Ashcraft was in the top 100 last season but didn't make the cut this season.
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. He also held opposing hitters to a .189 batting average and posted a 1.02 WHIP.
Chandler elevated his game to another level in Indianapolis, as he went 4-0 with a 1.83 ERA in seven starts and struck out 54 batters in 39 1/3 innings.
With the promise Chandler has shown and Harrington also nearing the big leagues, O'Dowd believes Pirates fans should be excited about what could lie ahead with them potentially joining Paul Skenes, Jared Jones and Mitch Keller in 2025.
"When you look at a rotation that's got Skenes, Jones, Keller, Harrington and Chandler, the Pirates' fans should be dreaming about a collection of arms that they probably never had in the history of their franchise," O'Dowd said.
