Pirates Promoting Pitcher Bubba Chandler
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have one of the best pitching prospects in Bubba Chandler and are finally bringing him up to the MLB level.
Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reported that the Pirates are selecting the contract of Chandler on Aug. 22, bringing him up from Triple-A Indianapolis ahead of the series opener vs. the Colorado Rockies at PNC Park.
Stumpf also reported that the Pirates will utilize Chandler as a bulk relief pitcher this season, but that they view him as a starting pitcher for the future and want to see him get starts in 2025.
Bubba Chandler will be used as a bulk reliever w/ the Pirates. The team views him as a starter long term and he can get starts this year, but the club wants him to get Major League experience and this is consistent with the role/expectations of other young pitchers like Ashcraft
— Alex Stumpf (@AlexJStumpf) August 20, 2025
Chandler posted a 5-6 record over 24 starts at Indianapolis this season, a 4.05 ERA over 100.0 innings pitched, 121 strikeouts to 53 walks, a .250 opposing batting average and a 1.48 WHIP.
He had a great start to 2025, allowing just 11 earned runs through the first 11 starts and two months of the season with Indianapolis.
This featured his start on May 24 vs. the Toldeo Mudhens, Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, where he brought a no-hitter into the seventh inning, finishing with 6.1 innings pitched.
He struggled throughout the month of June, posting an 8.53 ERA over five starts and 12.2 innings pitched, with 12 earned runs allowed, 12 walks to 11 strikeouts, a .309 opposing batting average and a 2.29 WHIP.
Chandler bounced back with two of his better starts in 2025, throwing six scoreless innings on both July 4 and July 10, with 13 combined strikeouts, before struggling over these last six outings.
He has given up at least two earned runs over his last six outings and hasn't had a scoreless start since July 10.
Chandler has posted a 7.56 ERA over that time, with 22 earned runs allowed over 26.2 innings pitched, 37 hits and 28 strikeouts to 16 walks, with an opposing batting average over .300.
MLB Pipeline ranks Chandler as the seventh best prospect in baseball and the second best Pirates prospect, with Konnor Griffin recently taking over as the best prospect.
The Pirates took Chandler with 72nd overall pick in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of North Oconee High School in Bogart, Ga., 60 miles east of Atlanta. He was an overslot signing, doing so for $3 million, picking the Pirates over his commitment to Clemson, where he was going to play baseball and football.
He started focusing entirely on pitching in 2023 and made it up through the minor league system and to Indianapolis in August 2024.
Chandler will join fellow rookie right-handed pitchers in Mike Burrows and Braxton Ashcraft, who will likely have the same role as him going forward, as the Pirates manage inning loads towards the end of 2025.
He will also join All-Star Paul Skenes and veteran Mitch Keller on the Pirates, who look to build a strong rotation for the future.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.