Pirates GM Addresses Timeline for Top Prospect's Promotion

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have one of the best prospects in baseball in right-handed pitcher Bubba Chandler, but many still wonder when he'll finally make it to the MLB.

MLB Pipeline ranks Chandler as the No. 2 prospect in baseball and the top farmhand in the Pirates system.

He has dominated with Triple-A Indianapolis this year with a 2-1 record in nine starts while allowing nine earned runs allowed over 37 1/3 innings pitched for a 2.17 ERA with 56 strikeouts to 16 walks and an opposing batting average of .197.

Pirates general manager Ben Cherington spoke about Chandler and other pitchers looking for a consistent rotation spot at the MLB level in right-handers Mike Burrows, Carmen Mlodzinski and Thomas Harrington.

Cherington doesn't have any guarantees for call-ups for any of these pitchers, but that with Chandler, they want to see him continue to grow and improve in Triple-A before calling him up.

“I think just as I said, that whole group of pitchers that I mentioned, we’ve got our eyes on all of them and the hope is that there’s a spot for all of those guys I mentioned, to come and contribute in 2025," Cherington said. "There’s no guarantee of it, but we hope that’s the case. I wouldn’t want to speculate as to when. I think it’s going to be different for each guy.

"I think in Bubba’s case specifically, certainly he’s performed well and we’re seeing the pitches are getting Triple-A hitters out. Everybody can see that. I think we want to see him continue to challenge himself. I think with all of those guys, the message is ‘treat it like a major-league game while you’re in Triple-A. Think about this being a game against major-league hitters, even though it’s a Triple-A game. Keep yourself at that standard.’ He’s responded to that. So, we’ll see. Again, we’re hopeful he’s in a position to help us win games this year.” 

The Pirates took Chandler out of North Ocone in Bogart, Ga. in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft. They convinced him to play baseball, forgoing his commitment to Clemson for football and baseball.

He spent most of 2024 with Double-A Altoona, before earning his promotion to Triple-A on Aug. 8, finishing with 4-0 record in seven starts, a 1.83 ERA in 39 1/3 innings pitched, allowing just 26 hits, eight earned runs, two home runs and 15 walks to 54 strikeouts.

Cherington acknowledged that they haven't called Chandler up because they still want him improving while in Triple-A and that they think he needs more time before they bring him up to Pittsburgh.

"It's primarily history," Cherington said. "It's not only history. History of where they're coming from in terms of volume. Age, volume history over time, not just the previous year, but over several years, where are they physically, health history, what are they coming off of, etcetera, delivery. There's a number of elements that go into it. Coming into spring training,

"...In Chandler's case, he's really young. He's only been a full time starter for basically two years coming into this spring training. And again we're trying to anticipate a full season for him, what's that going to look like? So we chose to go slower."