Pirates' Bubba Chandler Has Crucial Role in Starting Rotation
In this story:
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates made a big decision with their starting rotation, particularly involved rookie Bubba Chandler.
The Pirates brought back Jared Jones from the 60-day injured list and placed him in the starting rotation, while they took Carmen Mlodzinski out and placed him in the bullpen, keeping Chandler as the fifth starter.
Pittsburgh doing this wasn't easy on Mlodzinski, who ended up going on the restricted list, before returning to the team ahead of this upcoming road trip, where he'll assume his new role.
Chandler now has more pressure on him to succeed in the rotation going forward and he'll begin with a start against the Houston Astros in the series opener at Daikin Park on June 2.
Why Chandler Must Seize Opportunity
It's not been the best season so far for Chandler. who has struggled at times, particularly with command and not getting the results he's wanted so far.
Chandler has posted a 1-6 record over 11 starts, a 4.85 ERA over 52.0 innings pitched, 52 strikeouts to 36 walks, a .219 batting average allowed and a 1.52 WHIP.
His 6.23 BB/9 would rank highest amongst all qualified MLB pitchers and his 1.44 K/BB would rank second-lowest amongst all qualified MLB pitchers.
Chandler's stats are worse than Mlodzinski's who posted a 4-3 record over nine starts in 11 outings, with a 3.76 ERA over 55.0 innings pitched.
The move for Mlodzinski is more strategic rather than performance-based, so for Chandler, this start vs. the Astros is a big opportunity for him to solidify his position on this pitching staff.
Chandler has had a bit of bad luck, as he's not gotten much run support from a great Pirates lineup, with them just scoring 11 runs while he's been in the game his last seven appearances and them scoring one or zero runs while he has been in the game during six of his 11 starts.
While this hasn't been great for Chandler, his walk rate is still far too high for his or anyone's liking and is something that's caused him issues in starts.
Chandler still has great stuff, with a fastball that reaches 100 mph consistently, a great changeup and slider and two new pitches in his sinker and sweeper that he's utilizing more as the season goes on.
He posted a career-high 11 strikeouts in his start vs. the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on May 24, where he relied less on his fastball and used his offspeed more often.
Chandler is coming off of five innings against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park on May 27, where he allowed a season-high eight hits and four earned runs, second-most this season.
A big issue for Chandler is having a bad inning or two that really derails his starts, where the opposing team piles on and gets a lot of hits and the runs, which he dealt with the Cubs too.
It's time for Chandler now to cut down on the walks, get out of the rough innings early on, minimize his mistakes and trust his pitch mix to let him control his outings and shut down opposing hitters.
Why Pirates Kept Chandler in Rotation
Mlodzinski moves down to the bullpen, due to his experience in that role and also with the Pirates needing a reliable, effective arm that can handle a bulk role or even high-leverage situations.
Chandler's potential is still high, once the best pitching prospect in baseball, so if he can have a good outing and if Mlodzinski or rookie Wilber Dotel can come in after that, it gives the Pirates a chance to win close games or make comebacks.
"Yeah. I think that Bubba has gotten better in a sense of when you see his walks have come down, strikeouts have gone up," Pirates manager Don Kelly said back on May 28. "The game against Toronto was good. Like last night, first inning, gave up the three runs, found a way to settle into a rhythm, and came out of that game 4-4. And to be able to have a guy — if we have a guy like Carmen or if Dotel was available last night, that's probably their inning in the sixth inning to come in and fill that out.
"It gives us a chance. When you look back at May 25, what Dotel was able to do out of the bullpen in a 1-1 game and go three innings, and hold that all the way where Henry [Davis] was able to hit the home run. He gave us a huge chance to win, and we did win that game. Something we're searching for right now."
Kelly described the situation in the starting rotation as "fluid", so Chandler's spot isn't secured and he'll have prove he deserves it over the next few appearances.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
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.