Bubba Chandler Callup: Pirates No. 2 Prospect Expected To Debut Friday
The Pirates are calling up pitching prospect Bubba Chandler for his long-anticipated big league debut, according to Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Chandler, the No. 15 prospect in baseball, is expected to be added to the roster on Friday and pitch in a bulk-innings role out of the bullpen for the time being, which is a similar plan to how the Pirates handled the callup of fellow pitching prospect Braxton Ashcraft earlier in the season.
Chandler, 22, has been one of the top-ranked pitching prospects in baseball for the better part of the last year, climbing to as high as No. 3 in Baseball America’s Top 100 earlier this season. The hard-throwing righthander has arguably the best fastball in the minors, sitting in the upper 90s and regularly touching 100+ mph with impressive carry through the zone. Minor League managers voted Chandler’s fastball as the best heater in the Triple-A International League this year, where they also tabbed him as the circuit’s best overall pitcher.
Chandler used that heater to overpower hitters early in the season and was one of the most dominant starters in the minors through May, leading to speculation that Chandler may soon be ready for the majors.
But the call didn’t come and Chandler subsequently struggled with his command through long stretches of the summer, leading to his highest walk rate (12%) since he entered full-season ball back in 2022.
Still, Chandler struck out over 27% of Triple-A batters this year and few can match Chandler’s pure stuff. He pairs his unicorn fastball with an impressive upper-80s-to-low-90s changeup, and has experimented with both a slider, which at times flashes above-average, and a curveball this year. He’s a dynamic, athletic mover on the mound, and the combination of raw traits and physical upside point to the upside of a starter who could settle in at the front of a rotation one day, perhaps right behind Paul Skenes in Pittsburgh, if the Pirates can coax a bit more consistent strikes in the majors. And while Chandler’s big league development will start out of the bullpen, he should earn at least a few starts before the end of the season, setting the stage for 2026.
