Source: Pirates to promote top pitching prospect Bubba Chandler

Noah Hiles, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Aug 20, 2025

Published in Baseball

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PITTSBURGH — The Pirates are selecting the contract of their top pitching prospect, Bubba Chandler, sources told the Post-Gazette on Wednesday morning. A 22-year-old right-hander, Chandler is rated the No. 7 prospect in baseball by MLB Pipeline. He has made 24 starts with Triple-A Indianapolis this season, going 5-6 with a 4.05 ERA over 100 innings of work.

Sources told the Post-Gazette that Chandler will be added to the Pirates' active roster Friday. Chandler will initially be used in a bulk role out of the bullpen, similar to how rookie right-hander Braxton Ashcraft has been deployed. He will also have an opportunity to start games for the Pirates in 2025.

A standout in both football and baseball at North Oconee High School in Lawrenceville, Ga., the Pirates selected Chandler in the third round of the 2021 MLB draft. Originally committed to play quarterback at Clemson, Chandler instead chose to sign with Pittsburgh thanks in large part to a $3 million signing bonus, which was well above the $870,700 slot value.

Chandler began his professional career as a two-way player, seeing time as both a pitcher and position player — three games at shortstop, the rest as a designated hitter — in both rookie ball and the Low-A level. He became a full-time pitcher in 2023, a year when he started with High-A Greensboro. Chandler struggled in the front half of the season but hit his stride following the All-Star break, going 7-1 with a 1.66 ERA in his final nine outings of the year. His last outing that season was with Double-A Altoona.

"I learned to talk to those guys, to not be afraid to ask a question," Chandler told the Post-Gazette last season. "I think early on, I was afraid to ask a question. I didn't want to be the annoying kid. I just reached a point where I decided people could think what they wanted. If I could get something out of them, then I was going to look at that person differently. Players and coaches, asking those guys a lot of questions and retaining that information has been big for me."

Chandler's stock continued to rise at a rapid pace in 2024, earning his first appearance on MLB Pipeline's list of top 100 prospects. After missing brief time in May due to forearm soreness, he once again caught fire midseason, posting a 2.25 ERA in his final seven starts with the Curve before being promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis on Aug. 8.

Chandler was nothing short of dominant during his first taste of Triple-A. He finished the 2024 season going 4-0 with a 1.83 ERA over seven starts with the Indians.

"There's always something to learn from this game," Chandler told the Post-Gazette earlier this month in Indianapolis. " ... This season, my focus has been finding what works when I'm having an off day. When you're on, you're on. But finding a way to pitch well when you're off, that's how you see who separates themself. That has been my focus."

Throughout the first two months of this season, Chandler continued to thrive at the Triple-A level, posting a 2.03 ERA, 69 strikeouts and a .188 opposing batting average over 48 2/3 innings in his first 11 starts. But his numbers took a dip not long after.

Chandler posted an 8.53 ERA in June and a 4.05 ERA in July. His biggest issue has been command, which has plagued him from consistently going deep into ballgames. He will now look to fix those issues at the game's highest level.

Chandler's call-up comes after Aug. 15, a date that heavily pertains to his club control moving forward. Should he throw fewer than 50 big league innings by the end of the season, he will maintain his rookie status for all of 2026.