No. 1 Pitching Prospect Earns Promotion To Major Leagues

The Pittsburgh Pirates have long been out of the playoff race, but there are still a few things to be excited about during the home stretch of the season.

On Wednesday, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the Pirates are promoting Bubba Chandler to the Major Leagues. He will be added to the roster Friday, and is expected to pitch out of the bullpen in a long relief role, according to Hiles' report.

Chandler is the No. 1 pitching prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline's rankings. The 6-foot-3 right-hander had a 4.05 ERA an d a 1.48 ERA with 121 strikeouts and 53 walks across 24 starts and 100 innings this season with the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians.

He deploys a fastball-heavy arsenal, throwing it 55.1% of the time with a 97.8 mph average velocity in Triple-A this season. He also mixes in a changeup, slider and curveball.

Chandler got off to a tremendous start to the 2025 season, posting a 2.82 ERA and a .612 OPS against through his first 18 starts. His last six starts have come with some trouble, though, recording a 7.43 ERA and a .992 OPS against.

Chandler's rise to top-prospect status represents a major win for the Pirates player development department, as he was selected in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of North Oconee High School in Bogart, GA. Chandler was ranked No. 9 among Pirates prospects in 2022, then rose to No. 7 in 2023 and No. 5 in 2024.

Perhaps surprisingly, though, he's still not the Pirates' top prospect. That title goes to shortstop/outfielder Konnor Griffin, who's ranked No. 1 among all prospects in baseball. Chandler is the second Pirates pitcher to become the top pitching prospect, joining Paul Skenes in 2024, who's currently the favorite to win the National League Cy Young award.

Despite the Major League team's 53-74 record, the collection of young talent is something to look forward to.