Pittsburgh Pirates: Checking in on the 2021 Prep Pitchers

Bubba Chandler was also assigned to the Florida Complex League to start his career in the Pittsburgh Pirates Organization, as a pitcher.  Chandler did make his Organizational debut last summer in form of a hitter.  He was able to record 37 plate appearances but never took the mound.

This year he has been doing both.  He has pitched as part of a typical rotation, but also has spent time being the designated hitter. Chandler quickly earned himself a promotion from the Complex League.  At that level, he had an OPS over 1.000 and walked 9 times while only striking out 6 times.  As a pitcher, he was straight dominant.  He did not allow a single earned run in his 15.1 innings of work.  Furthermore, he struck out an impressive 27 hitters in those innings.

Chandler was promoted to Low-A Bradenton in mid-July. He has once again been doing both pitching and hitting.  As a hitter, he is not having as much success.  He currently owns an OPS of .625 in 42 at-bats.

His pitching numbers at Low-A are a little more interesting.  His ERA is not great, sitting at 5.68 across 12.2 innings of work.  However, he is still getting a lot of swings and misses striking out 19 total batters.  Things will likely get better for Chandler as he gains more experience on the mound, the stuff is obviously there.