Pirates prospect update: Is Bubba Chandler done with Indy?

The Pirates’ rotation could use a little Bubba.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have taken great strides to improve their starting pitching rotation, though it still at times is the anchor of the team. The veteran presence of Mitch Keller coupled with the emergence of rookies Jared Jones and Paul Skenes gives the team a decent blueprint for how they approach next season. With a couple of pieces still in question, it does leave the possibility open of another rookie making the jump in 2025, and I think it’s clear to see that Bubba Chandler is next in line.

Currently ranked atop the Pirates’ top prospects, Chandler has surged ahead of the pack this season. A slow start to 2024 is a distant memory, as since the All-Star break, he has been unstoppable. Leading up the All-Star break, Chandler was named the EAS Pitcher of the Week to end June and was then selected to the Futures Game during All-Star weekend.

Chandler was then promoted to Indianapolis in August where he didn’t miss a beat. It’s not a big deal as it’s almost always expected for a player to stumble once promoted to the next level, but there was none of that in the case of Chandler. In seven starts with Indy, Chandler is 4-0 with a 1.83 ERA. On September 10, he was nearly perfect against Rochester, striking out 10 batters in six innings pitched and just one hit allowed. His final start of the season saw him strikeout eight, en-route to a 7-3 victory over St.Paul.

One thing that is encouraging about the Pirates moving forward is that they are developing some quality pitchers and are not afraid to push them through the ranks. Skenes famously had a very short stint in the minors, with just seven starts at Triple-A this year. Jones had 16 appearances with the Indians before being promoted after Spring Training in 2024, and he managed to do with a losing record in Indianapolis. Clearly the organization is wasting no time getting their best pitchers up to Pittsburgh.

Chandler clearly has the makings of a Major League pitcher. Through this season he’s learned to diversify his pitch type from one opponent to the next, setting traps based on what opposing clubs are seeing on tape, and has learned not to lean on his best pitch all the time. He has come leaps and bounds since being drafted, and I think there is very little he can still learn and accomplish in the Minor League ranks. A quality Spring Training could be the difference maker, but I don’t think there is much getting in the way of Chandler’s promotion to Pittsburgh.