Pirates Taking Measured Approach with Pitching Prospect Despite Electric Start
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As the buzz around top prospect Bubba Chandler continues to build, Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington emphasized patience and precision when it comes to the 22-year-old right-hander’s potential Major League debut.
Chandler, who has impressed through his first four starts at Triple-A in 2025 — posting a 1.76 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, and 23 strikeouts over 15 innings — is showing flashes of dominance, regularly lighting up the radar gun at 100 MPH. MLB.com recently highlighted Chandler's fastball as an early season Statcast standout amongst Triple-A pitchers.
According to MLB.com, Chandler's four-seam fastball ranks third in average induced vertical break (18.5 inches), fourth in average velocity (98.5 mph), fifth in whiff percentage (41.8 percent) and eighth in average spin rate (2,451 rpm). But Cherington made it clear during last Friday's pre-game press conference that the Pirates are focused on development, not just results.
Here are 5 Top 100 prospects who have eye-popping Statcast numbers at Triple-A, from Roman Anthony and his barrel rate to Bubba Chandler and his four-seam metrics: https://t.co/dwv79F2Fxv pic.twitter.com/WiMsreQyf4
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) April 22, 2025
“There’s some refining of pitch shape stuff that he’s worked on coming out of spring training, breaking balls in particular,” Cherington said. “Then just usage. He’s now got four potentially really good pitches, and Triple-A lineups — especially as we increase volume — will challenge him and how he’s using those pitches.”
Chandler is being managed carefully early in the season, with pitch counts designed to gradually build toward a starter’s workload. According to Cherington, May will mark the start of that ramp-up. The hope is that Chandler will be ready to contribute to the big-league club later this season, but only once he's fully prepared both physically and strategically.
“We want to make sure that when that happens, we don’t want to shut that down,” Cherington explained. “So we’re managing that volume a bit early in the season. At some point that will start to build… then we’ll see where we are. We’ll see where he is.”
Bubba Chandler's Triple-A Ranks:
— Young Bucs (@YoungBucsPIT) April 21, 2025
1st in Opp. AVG ⏩️.120
4th in WHIP ⏩️0.78
8th in ERA ⏩️1.76 pic.twitter.com/EuzBdCaYGM
When asked if Chandler could be viewed as “Paul Skenes 2.0,” Cherington was quick to differentiate the two standout arms. “They’re different pitchers,” he said. “I want to be careful not to compare the two. There’s some similarities with how we approach it.”
For now, Pirates fans will have to wait a bit longer to see the fireballing Chandler in black and gold, but if his early season dominance continues, the call to Pittsburgh may not be far off.
Ethan Merrill is from Grand Rapids, MI, and brings with him a diverse background of experiences. After graduating from Michigan State University with a degree in journalism, he worked with the Arizona Diamondbacks for three seasons before settling in the Pittsburgh area in 2020. With a passion for sports and a growing connection to his community, Ethan brings a fresh perspective to covering the Pittsburgh Pirates.