With Roman Anthony on the Boston Red Sox Roster, Who Is the Next No. 1 Prospect?

Look to the Pittsburgh Pirates, who could see Bubba Chandler move up the list of Top 100 prospects.

Indianapolis Indians starting pitcher Bubba Chandler (53) throws to Louisville Bats outfielder Blake Dunn (32) during the third inning of a game Sunday, May 18, 2025, at Victory Field in Indianapolis. | Christine Tannous/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Roman Anthony is in the major leagues now, debuting this week with the Boston Red Sox, so who is set to take his title as the No. 1 prospect in baseball?

Going by MLB Pipeline and Baseball America rankings, it's Bubba Chandler, a 22-year-old right-hander in the Pittsburgh Pirates' organization.

(Remember -- Anthony will remain No. 1 for a while until he meets certain milestones in the majors, therefore this is an exercise to find the presumptive top prospect.)

So just who is Bubba Chandler?

This season, he is 2-1 with a 2.63 ERA in 13 starts at Triple-A Indianapolis. The Pirates selected him in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of high school in Bogart, Ga. He signed with the Pirates, forgoing the chance to play in college at Clemson, where he also had a chance to play football for head coach Dabo Swinney.

In his minor league career, he has a 23-13 record and a 3.45 ERA in 78 games (72 starts) and 323.1 innings.

In a limited sample size last season at Indianapolis, he made just seven starts and went 4-0 with a 1.83 ERA.

So why hasn’t Chandler been called up yet, given that batters average a paltry .190 against him? It could be his penchant for walks. This season, he’s issued 26 walks and struck out 70 in 51.1 innings and has a career strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.78.

Should circumstances require the Pirates to call up Chandler before the next reshuffling of the prospect rankings, who could take over at No. 1? Baseball America and MLB Pipeline shift the focus to a pair of 18-year-old shortstops, both signed as international prospects.

Baseball America has Jesus Made, who is playing for the Milwaukee Brewers' Single-A affiliate, as next on its list. He has a slash line this season of .278/.384/.423/.807. MLB Pipeline likes Leo De Vries, playing at Double-A Fort Wayne, a San Diego Padres affiliate. His slash line is .253/.347/.425/.772.

Leo De Vries DESTROYED this 😳 pic.twitter.com/c8I2D1EwKY

— Milb Central (@milb_central) June 11, 2025

There's plenty of time for Made and DeVries to get those numbers up. They are believed to be at least two full seasons away from the majors. As for Chandler, his arrival in Pittsburgh is not far off.

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