Pirates' Bubba Chandler Places Among Premier RHP Prospects
The rise of Pittsburgh Pirates' top prospect Bubba Chandler has him among the best right-handed pitching prospects in baseball.
MLB Pipeline released its top 10 right-handed pitching prospects in baseball and had Chandler at No. 4. He only trailed Rōki Sasaki (Los Angeles Dodgers), Jackson Jobe (Detroit Tigers) and Andrew Painter (Philadelphia Phillies).
"Bubba Chandler was last year’s “keep an eye on” candidate, and he lived up to the billing, climbing up to No. 4 on this year’s list," MLB Pipeline's Jonathan Mayo writes.
Chandler was also tied with Sasaki, Jobe and Painter for having the best fastball among right-handed pitching prospects.
"The metrics on Chandler’s upper-90s heater are very impressive," Mayo wrote.
Chandler rose the ranks on the heels of a stellar 2024 season that saw him rise from Double-A Altoona to Triple-A Indianapolis. Overall, Pittsburgh's top prospect went 10-7 with a 3.08 ERA in 26 appearances, including 23 starts. In Altoona, Chandler went 6-7 with a 3.70 ERA in 19 appearances, 16 of which were starts, and struck out 94 batters over 80 1/3 innings.
Chandler elevated his game to another level upon reaching Triple-A, as he was 4-0 with a 1.83 ERA in seven starts while striking out 54 batters in 39 1/3 innings. Across Altoona and Indianapolis, the he held opposing hitters to a .189 batting average and posted a 1.02 WHIP.
Chandler's progression has him on the cusp of reaching the big leagues. With the Pirates including right-handed starting pitcher Luis Ortiz in their trade to the Cleveland Guardians for left-handed hitting first baseman Spencer Horwitz, the opportunity is there for Chandler to break camp with the big league club out of Spring Training.
Jared Jones made the big league club to begin the 2024 season after a strong showing in spring training. If Chandler can put together a similar performance this year, he'll have a chance to be the Pirates' No. 5 starter and give them one of baseball's most exciting trios of young pitchers with him, Jones and Paul Skenes.
