Pirates' top prospect training with Paul Skenes hints at potential 2025 debut

The Pittsburgh Pirates already have a generational talent on their MLB roster in pitching phenom Paul Skenes, and top prospect Bubba Chandler could be joining him atop the Major League rotation sooner rather than later.

The Pirates' "Young Bucs" account on X, dedicated to showcasing the organization's minor league prospects, posted a video interview with Chandler in which the 22-year-old reflected on his 2024 season and discussed his goals for the future.

Across Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis, Chandler was 10-7 with a 3.08 ERA over 26 appearances in 2024. He struck out 148 batters over 119.2 innings pitched and held opponents to a .189 batting average. He was especially impressive in Triple-A, going 4-0 with a 1.87 ERA over seven starts for Indianapolis.

Chandler, the Pirates' No. 1 prospect and the No. 15 prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline, was also named the club's Pitching Prospect of the Year by MLB.com. The Pirates struck gold when they nabbed him in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft, and now that he has transitioned from being a two-way player to focusing solely on pitching, his ceiling is sky-high.

Pirates' top prospect Bubba Chandler picks up training tips from Paul Skenes

Chandler and Skenes are already well acquainted after spending some time training together last offseason. The pair even share a unique warm-up routine that includes a variety of steps, from throwing a football to going through pitching motions with a tank of water strapped to their backs.

"We trained together this last offseason, and we we are similar pitchers in kind of the way we do [and] kind of the way we work about stuff and go throughout our day to day," Chandler said. "The water back stuff is good for your core [and] big with transferring your energy from one part of your body to the other part of your body."

Spending time around Skenes certainly can't hurt Chandler's development, and it may not be long before Chandler becomes the next Pirates pitching phenom to join Skenes in the big leagues.

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