Bubba Chandler's Triple-A debut further fuels Pirates' hype train

The top prospect in the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system made his long-awaited Triple-A debut on Sunday, and it was everything we dreamed it would be and more.

Right-handed pitching prospect Bubba Chandler got the starting nod for Triple-A Indianapolis against the Nashville Sounds and put on a near-perfect performance, taking a no-hitter into the sixth and tossing seven scoreless innings while giving up just two hits and one walk. His velocity touched the upper 90s, with his fastball topping out at 98.7 mph, and he earned International League Pitcher of the Week honors for his efforts.

Currently ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 41 prospect in baseball, Chandler was selected by Pittsburgh in the third round (72nd overall) of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft out of North Oconee (Bogart, Ga.) High School. Drafted as a two-way player, he made the full-time switch to pitching last season in A-ball. At 21 years old, he is the youngest player on the Indianapolis roster.

Bubba Chandler's dominant second half began in Double-A Altoona

In 19 games with Double-A Altoona (16 starts) prior to his promotion, Chandler went 6-7 with a 3.70 ERA, 94 strikeouts, 1.01 WHIP and a .192 batting average against in 80.1 innings pitched. He missed time in May with forearm soreness and struggled when he first came back, posting a 1-4 record and a 5.65 ERA.

Things really started turn around in late June, however, when Chandler notched back-to-back starts with a strikeout count in the double digits. By mid-July, his batting average against was below .200, and he earned a spot on the National League All-Star Futures Game roster, where he came out of the bullpen to pitch a scoreless seventh inning with one hit and one walk to close out the game.

Since the start of June, he has posted an impressive 2.61 ERA and 10.6 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Much of Chandler's success on the mound can be attributed to the time and effort he's spent developing secondary pitches. While his slider is his primary breaking pitch, he has made recent strides with his changeup while also mixing in the occasional curveball.

We may not see him in Pittsburgh this year, but Chandler's future remains bright. The thought of a potential Bubba Chandler-Paul Skenes combo at the top of the Pirates rotation in the big leagues makes us giddy, but good things take time and Chandler will likely need some more time to marinate in the minors. For now, he'll be a ton of fun to watch in Indianapolis.

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