Bubba Chandler

Fantasy News

• Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Struggles with control again

  Rotowire Mar 1, 2026

  Chandler allowed two earned runs on three hits and three walks with two strikeouts across 1.1 innings in Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Astros. Chandler has struggled in two spring appearances, walking seven across only three innings of work. He surrendered free passes to the first two batters he faced Saturday, though he nearly worked out of the jam. There's no indication that Chandler's spot in the Pirates' rotation is in jeopardy, but he hasn't had a strong start to the exhibition season.

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• Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Struggles to locate fastball

  Rotowire Feb 24, 2026

  Chandler allowed four earned runs while walking four and striking out two across 1.2 innings in Monday's Grapefruit League game against the Yankees. Chandler retired the Yankees in order in the first inning but walked four of the six batters he faced in the second frame. He ultimately threw only 14 of his 35 pitches for strikes, a concerning data point given his struggles to find the zone consistently with Triple-A Indianapolis in 2025. However, per Kevin Gorman of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Chandler purposefully lowered his velocity after topping 100 mph, which caused him to lose his attacking mentality and become erratic with his pitch placement.

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• Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Finishes debut season with win

  Rotowire Sep 27, 2025

  Chandler (4-1) earned the win against Atlanta on Saturday, allowing one run on four hits and no walks with six strikeouts over 5.2 innings. Despite throwing just 50 of 86 pitches for strikes, Chandler didn't issue a walk for the third straight start and generated 13 whiffs en route to his second consecutive win. Over his final three outings, the 23-year-old allowed only two earned runs with a stellar 19:0 K:BB. He'll finish his debut campaign with a 4.02 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 31:4 K:BB across 31.1 major-league innings.

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• Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Posts best MLB outing to date

  Rotowire Sep 14, 2025

  Chandler allowed one run on two hits and no walks while striking out seven batters over six innings in a no-decision against Washington on Saturday. Chandler was crushed in his first big-league start last Sunday, but he was given another turn in the rotation and took full advantage of the opportunity. The rookie right-hander didn't allow the Nationals to get a runner on base until the sixth inning, but Pittsburgh didn't score until the eighth, so Chandler had to settle for a no-decision. Nonetheless, this was by most measures his best outing in a Pirates uniform, as he logged a career-best six innings, 18 whiffs and seven punchouts. Chandler almost certainly cemented his place in the rotation for what's left of the season, and he lines up to face the Athletics at home late next week.

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• Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Awarded another start

  Rotowire Sep 13, 2025

  Chandler is slated to start Saturday's game against the Nationals in Washington. After turning in a shiny 2.25 ERA and 0.83 WHIP over 12 innings across three bulk-relief appearances to begin his time in the big leagues, Chandler was handed his first MLB start this past Sunday against the Brewers. The 22-year-old righty was handily knocked around by the NL Central leaders, lasting just 2.2 innings in a 10-2 loss while yielding nine earned runs on nine hits and three walks. Despite the wretched outing, Chandler will be deployed as a starter once again Saturday, though another poor showing could prompt the Pirates to shift him back to his prior bulk-relief role.

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• Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Making first MLB start Sunday

  Rotowire Sep 6, 2025

  Pirates manager Don Kelly said that Chandler will start Sunday's game against Milwaukee at PNC Park, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports. Chandler's first three major-league outings have come in bulk relief, with each lasting exactly four innings. He posted a 2.25 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 9:1 K:BB while going 2-0 with one save in those appearances. Chandler threw 65 pitches -- his most to date as a big leaguer -- in his most recent outing Tuesday against the Dodgers, so he may not be tasked with a full starter's workload Sunday. He'll be going up against another flamethrowing rookie in Milwaukee's Jacob Misiorowski.

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• Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Nabs second win

  Rotowire Sep 3, 2025

  Chandler (2-0) picked up the win Tuesday over the Dodgers, giving up three runs on six hits over four relief innings in a 9-7 victory. He struck out three without walking a batter. Entering the game in the third inning to piggyback Carmen Mlodzinski once again, Chandler racked up an impressive 22 called or swinging strikes on only 50 pitches (34 total strikes), but he also served up his first two homers in the majors, getting taken deep by Shohei Ohtani and Andy Pages. Through his first three appearances with the Pirates, Chandler has lasted exactly four innings each time, producing a 2.25 ERA, 0.83 WHIP and 9:1 K:BB. If the Bucs maintain that piggyback arrangement, the duo will be lined up to take the mound again this weekend at home against the Brewers -- setting up a potential marquee matchup of flame-throwing rookies between Chandler and Jacob Misiorowski.

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• Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Logs first big-league win

  Rotowire Aug 28, 2025

  Chandler (1-0) picked up the win Wednesday against the Cardinals, allowing one hit and one walk with three strikeouts over four scoreless innings. Chandler served as a long reliever for a second straight appearance, taking the mound to start the fourth inning and firing four scoreless frames. Chandler has now logged a save and a victory in his first two MLB appearances, and he's allowed no runs on three hits with six strikeouts across eight innings during that stretch. The highly touted prospect has looked as advertised through two appearances.

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• Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Will be promoted to pitch in relief

  Rotowire Aug 20, 2025

  The Pirates will select Chandler's contract from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday and are expected to use him in a long-relief role, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Chandler's long-awaited arrival to the majors will finally occur, though it won't be in the role fantasy managers were hoping for. Alex Stumpf of MLB.com likens the Pirates' expected usage of Chandler down the stretch to how they've deployed Braxton Ashcraft, who pitched as a multi-inning reliever before moving into the rotation earlier this month. It will be difficult for Chandler to churn out fantasy value in such a role, unless his ascension to the rotation occurs much quicker than Ashcraft's. Chandler has had an up-and-down season with Indianapolis, collecting a 4.05 ERA and 121:53 K:BB over an even 100 innings. He holds a 7.79 ERA and 17:12 K:BB across 17.1 frames in his last four outings with the Pirates' top minor-league affiliate.

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• Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Looking ready at Triple-A

  Rotowire May 2, 2025

  Chandler gave up one run on three hits and one walk while striking out nine in five innings Thursday for Triple-A Indianapolis. The three hits Chandler gave up were actually a season high, and he hasn't walked more than one batter in four straight starts, so he is pretty clearly ready for the next level. His nine strikeouts Thursday were a season high, and his five innings matched his season high, so it's possible Chandler's next start will come in Pittsburgh's rotation. That said, if Chandler were to stay on schedule, he'd need to bump one of Paul Skenes or Mitch Keller back a day, or Skenes would need to be pushed up a day to pitch on four days' rest after his worst start of the year, so the schedule doesn't line up perfectly for Chandler's entrance into the rotation.

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• Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Looks big-league ready

  Rotowire Apr 9, 2025

  Chandler threw four scoreless innings, allowing one hit and walking two while striking out eight in Tuesday's start with Triple-A Indianapolis. Chandler stumbled a bit in his first start with Indianapolis when he worked only 2.2 innings Thursday. However, he rebounded Tuesday while ramping up to 61 pitches. There's no timeline for Chandler to make his way to Pittsburgh, but he should contribute relatively early on in the campaign.

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• Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Garners spring invite

  Rotowire Feb 4, 2025

  The Pirates have extended Chandler an invitation to big-league camp during spring training. Fellow top prospects Konnor Griffin, Thomas Harrington and Termarr Johnson also received spring training invites from the Pirates. Chandler appears the most ready of that group to help the major-league club in 2025, perhaps even as a member of its Opening Day rotation. The 22-year-old posted a 3.08 ERA and 148:41 K:BB over 119.2 innings between Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis in 2024, including a 1.75 ERA and 61:15 K:BB in his final 46.1 frames.

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• Pirates' Bubba Chandler: Promoted to Triple-A

  Rotowire Aug 2, 2024

  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: Throws side session

  Rotowire May 26, 2024

  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 May 14, 2024

  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 Sep 6, 2023

  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 Feb 28, 2023

  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.

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