Pittsburgh Pirates Draft: Bubba Chandler Taken in Third Round

The Pittsburgh Pirates have followed up two interesting picks, selecting two-way player Bubba Chandler as a steal with their third round selection.

The Pittsburgh Pirates have followed up their selections of Henry Davis, Anthony Solomento and Lonnie White by selecting two-way high school star Bubba Chandler. The Pirates selecting the 18-year-old Chandler is arguably one of the biggest steals of the draft so far.

Chandler plays both shortstop and is a right-handed pitcher. As a shortstop, MLB Pipeline sees him as a speedy glove first middle infielder with some pop. He has a 55-grade fielding tool and 70-grade arm by MLB Pipeline. The switch-hitter only has a 45-grade hit tool, but is a 55-grade runner with 50-grade power. As a shortstop, he could be your typical glove-first, 20-steal/15-homer guy with an overall above average bat.

However, Chandler has gotten even more praise as a right-handed pitcher. Chandler has a four-seam fastball that has seen an uptick in velocity the past season. After averaging out in the 88-93 MPH range in 2020, he’s working up in the 92-95 MPH range. He’s topped out at 97 MPH and is seen as a well above average offering. FanGraphs sees it as a 55-future grade pitch while MLB Pipeline pins it with a 60-grade.

His curveball also has gotten a decent bit of praise. He takes a lot off of it as it comes in the low-70’s. MLB Pipeline and FanGraphs have it as a second above average offering at 55 for both sites. He also throws a change-up in the low-80’s and slider in the mid-80’s. He has a feel for both and are seen as two average offerings.

The Pittsburgh Pirates likely selected Henry Davis to save a few million in the draft and it looks like this is where that money is going toward. Chandler was seen as a top 20 pick by FanGraphs and the 21st best player avaiable in the draft by MLB Pipeline. The Pirates able to get him past the top 70 picks make him one of, if not the biggest draft steal so far.

The reason Chandler fell was due to his commitment to play football for the Clemson Tigers. It may take a bit over slot to get Chandler to sign, but the Pirates have the money to make that happen.