Pittsburgh Pirates Prospects: Bubba Chandler Dominates in Double-A Debut

Making his first start at the Double-A level, Pittsburgh Pirates pitching prospect Bubba Chandler impressed with a dominant outing

Entering the season few prospects in the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system had higher expectations than Bubba Chandler. The former two-way player solely became a pitcher this season as he began to ascend to top 100 prospect status.

Following a poor start to the season, Chandler started to right the ship in July. Dating back to July 1st, Chandler made nine starts with the High-A Greensboro Grasshoppers. In these nine starts Chandler posted a 2.57 ERA, 8.4% walk rate, and a 25.7% strikeout rate in 49 innings pitched. He allowed just seven home runs and limited opposing batters to a .202 batting average.

This strong stretch from Chandler led to him being promoted to Double-A Altoona as Ben Cherington continues to be aggressive with moving pitching prospects through the farm system. Friday night, Chandler made his first start at the Double-A level and was dominant.

In a 6-0 victory for the Altoona Curve, Chandler pitched 5 scoreless innings. The lone base runner he allowed came via a single and he struck out eight. Chandler did a great job filling up the strike zone throwing 51 of his 69 pitches for strikes.

With this start, Chandler will finish the 2023 season on a high note. A high note that goes back to the start of July. Chandler is now positioned to start the 2024 season in Altoona and could pitch his way to the majors next season.

Chandler's fastball and slider are both plus pitches. His changeup is already a solid pitch, with the potential to become a plus pitch. With the way he finished his 2023 season look for Chandler to continue to climb prospect rankings this offseason.