Pirates’ Bubba Chandler Throws Hardest Pitch Of His Career

Triple-A Indianapolis righthander Bubba Chandler has been kept to a pretty strict pitch limit so far this year, as he’s yet to throw more than 61 pitches in a start. But given the limited parameters of how long he’s allowed to work, he’s been dominant. Chandler has always had a quality fastball, but he touched 101.5 mph on Sunday and had three other pitches that topped 100 mph. Chandler hadn’t touched triple digits in 2023 or 2024, now he’s thrown the hardest pitch by a starting pitcher in Triple-A or MLB this year, equalling Hunter Greene’s top velocity. Chandler is 0-0, 1.69 with a 46.1% strikeout percentage. Chandler made one mistake on Sunday, as two pitches after his 101.5 mph strikeout pitch, Ivan Johnson went the opposite way to just clear the left field fence for a two-run homer.