Chandler gave up one hit and two walks while striking out 10 over six scoreless frames Tuesday for Triple-A Indianapolis.
Chandler has a 1.95 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 93:19 K:BB in 74 innings across his last 13 starts split between Double-A and Triple-A. The 6-foot-2 righty turns 22 this weekend and is looking like a finished product with a claim as the best pitching prospect in the game.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Promoted to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Pirates promoted Chandler from Double-A Altoona to Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
In 18 appearances at Double-A this season (15 starts), Chandler has posted a 3.93 ERA and 1.05 WHIP alongside an 87:26 K:BB through 73.1 innings. Regarded as the Pirates' top pitching prospect, the 21-year-old righty will most likely spend the remainder of the 2024 campaign in Triple-A and look to crack the big-league rotation at some point in '25.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Back in action for Altoona
Rotowire
Double-A Altoona reinstated Chandler (forearm) from its 7-day injured list May 29.
Chandler spent just over the minimum seven days on the shelf after Altoona deactivated him May 19 due to what was an apparently minor forearm injury. He's given up three runs (two earned) on eight hits and one walk while striking out eight in nine innings in his two starts since re-entering the rotation. Over 10 appearances (nine starts) overall with Altoona in 2024, Chandler has logged a 4.81 ERA, 1.36 WHIP and 38:19 K:BB across 33.2 innings.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Throws side session
Rotowire
Chandler (forearm) threw a side session Friday, MLB.com reports.
Despite the injury being termed a forearm issue, the Pirates insisted that Chandler was placed on the 7-day injured list as a precaution. The team's description of the issue appears to be accurate, however, as his side session came only five days after being placed on the injured list and the expectation is that he will return to game action soon.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Treading water at Double-A
Rotowire
Chandler has a 4.13 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 29 strikeouts and 13 walks in 24 innings across seven appearances for Double-A Altoona.
Chandler has a 3.72 FIP and 3.70 xFIP, so he's been perfectly fine in a return to Double-A after making one start there to close 2023. The former two-way prospect has logged four-plus innings in three of his seven outings, as he has struggled to be efficient thus far (13 percent walk rate). He is the fifth-youngest pitcher with 20-plus innings at Double-A and turns 22 in September.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Turns corner at High-A
Rotowire
Chandler has a 2.57 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 49 strikeouts in 49 innings over his last nine starts for High-A Greensboro.
Chandler got an 11-day gap between starts in early-July and just took 10 days in between his Aug. 22 start and his most recent start Sept. 2, as Pittsburgh carefully monitors the former two-way player's first season focusing solely on pitching. The hard-throwing 20-year-old righty has a very high ceiling and has turned a corner at High-A after logging a 6.63 ERA and 1.89 WHIP in his first 57 innings this season.
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Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Focusing on pitching in 2023
Rotowire
Chandler was told by the Pirates on Monday that he will work exclusively as a pitcher this year, Sam Dykstra of MiLB.com reports.
Chandler was selected as a two-way player in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft, but the Pirates want him to focus solely on his mound work in 2023 after he struggled to a .184/.284/.290 batting line in 32 games (88 plate appearances) last summer at Low-A Bradenton. He posted a 2.61 ERA with 60 strikeouts in 41.1 innings between Bradenton and the rookie-level Florida Coast League.
