After what Paul Skenes and Jared Jones displayed in their rookie campaigns, the Pittsburgh Pirates have to be excited about what’s to come with their latest top pitching prospect.
The Pirates selected right-handed starting pitcher Bubba Chandler in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft. Chandler has continuously climbed up Pittsburgh’s top prospect list and has most recently landed at No. 15 in all of baseball per MLB.com’s top 100 prospects ranking.
The 22-year-old is expected to make his debut sometime in the 2025 season for Pittsburgh, and it should come with plenty of excitement as he’s seen as one of baseball’s best pitching prospects.
In the 2025 MLB Pipeline Poll by MLB.com’s Jonathan Mayo, which featured executives from all 30 teams, Chandler received 12.5 percent of the vote for top pitching prospect — finishing behind Detroit Tigers prospect Jackson Jobe and Cincinnati Reds prospect Chase Burns.
Between Double-A and Triple-A in 2024, Chandler had a 3.08 ERA, 148 strikeouts, and averaged 11.1 strikeouts per nine over 119 2/3 innings. The Pirates will be counting on the 22-year-old to follow in the footsteps of both Skenes and Jones in the 2025 season.
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