What Pirates fans have been wondering all along may have just impacted Bubba Chandler

There's no sense in sugarcoating it – June has been a rough month for baseball's top pitching prospect.

Bubba Chandler, the Pittsburgh Pirates' No. 1 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, is coming off his worst start of the season for Triple-A Indianapolis on Sunday against Columbus. Chandler lasted just 2 2/3 innings and surrendered five hits, six earned runs and two walks while throwing 59 pitches, continuing a concerning trend of rough outings over the past month.

Through four starts in June, Chandler has pitched to a whopping 10.64 ERA while giving up 11 earned runs in just 9 1/3 innings.

He has surrendered eight walks while recording only five strikeouts during that span and hasn't made it to three full innings in three of those four starts.

Pirates top prospect Bubba Chandler seems impacted by fans' biggest fear

Chandler's rough stretch in June marks a start contrast from his stellar start to the season. Through his first 11 starts (48 2/3 innings), he allowed just 11 earned runs for a 2.03 ERA.

As far as what's to blame for Chandler's rocky month, Eric Samulski of NBC Sports theorized that the 22-year-old hurler's struggles are purely mental.

"Just my opinion but Bubba Chandler’s recent command issues are the result of him not being called up sooner," Samulski posted on X. "Baseball is a mental game. He dominated AAA & it earned him nothing. He’s either trying too hard to prove himself or pitching pissed off."

Earlier in the month – and as early as last season, really – speculation began to swirl as to when Chandler might get his first Major League call-up. There was even conjecture that the Pirates might be manipulating his service time by using the Super Two rule to delay his promotion and avoid giving him an early arbitration raise.

While Chandler's recent struggles may suggest the Pirates made the right call by keeping him down in Triple-A, perhaps there is some truth to Samulski's hypothesis about the delayed promotion messing with Chandler's head. Regardless of the reason for his recent struggles, though, the Pirates' front office and fans alike hope that he can get back on track and make his Major League debut with Pittsburgh before the end of 2025.

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