Pirates fans are all in on Bubba Chandler and Paul Skenes’ 'rivalry'

The Pittsburgh Pirates boast arguably the most talented young pitching duo in baseball in the form of Paul Skenes and Bubba Chandler. And to the great delight of Pirates fans, the two appear to have elite chemistry as teammates that matches their electric talent.

A recent Skenes-Chandler dual interview from SportsNet Pittsburgh's Hannah Mears showed the pair of stud pitchers busting each other's chops in ways that winners do. Skenes, responding to Chandler's jab in the interview that Skenes has been "spoon-fed" throughout his career, urged Chandler to "pitch better" if Bubba is unhappy with the way things stand.

Perhaps Skenes was thinking back to Chandler's rough spring outing against the New York Yankees when he first made these comments. After allowing four earned runs to the Yanks in 1 2/3 innings, Chandler bounced back last week with a dominant showing against the Atlanta Braves, in which Chandler's famous fastball was humming (and virtually unhittable).

Chandler's spring performances aside, the playful jabbing between him and Skenes points to a mutual respect between the two phenoms that gives Pirates fans a warm and fuzzy feeling about the future.

Playful rivalry between Paul Skenes and Bubba Chandler is glorious for Pirates fans

As generational as Skenes has been and continues to be, Chandler has already turned a ton of heads in his own right, despite having only pitched 31 innings in the bigs. ESPN's David Schoenfield recently jumped on the Bubba hype train, writing that Chandler "might be ready to dominate right now, offering a lethal one-two duo alongside (Skenes)." Schoenfield's colleague at ESPN, Kiley McDaniel, described Chandler as a "right-handed Blake Snell."

With the degree of collective talent possessed by Chandler and Skenes, there's plenty to smile about (hence the merry banter). Beneath the jokes, though, you have to think that Chandler is motivated by Skenes' success to carve his own path towards greatness. Likewise, Skenes' own drive and hunger will be bolstered by having another generational arm in the Pirates organization to push him.

This is how the best one-two punches in sports work. The higher Skenes climbs, the harder Chandler will work to catch him. The faster Chandler develops, the sharper Skenes will seek to remain. Of course, this is all nothing but a splendid situation for the Pirates and their fanbase.

Pirates fans already knew that Skenes and Chandler are special arms. Now that it's becoming clear that the pair of young stars also have a special bond, it's looking like Pittsburgh's rotation could be scary-good quite soon.