BRIDGEWATER – As much fun as Bubba Chandler’s past is, now is the time to focus on his immediate future.
The second-best pitching prospect in the Eastern League behind only Jackson Jobe and ranked at No. 51 overall by MLB Pipeline, the electric 21-year-old right-hander is set to take the mound at TD Bank Ballpark for the Altoona Curve in Sunday’s series finale against the Somerset Patriots, set for 5:05 p.m.
Listed as the probable starter, that’s seemingly subject to change, as the prized Pittsburgh Pirates arm has fired just 33 official pitches since July 2, but is set to take the mound at some point, if not in the first inning.
That total includes 14 pitches in a scoreless seventh inning of the Futures Game to close it out for the National League squad, showcasing himself well in Major League Baseball’s annual midsummer showcase of their top prospects as part of All-Star Game weekend.
“It was fun,” Chandler said. “Really cool time meeting a lot of different guys and meeting some former big leaguers as our coaches. The guy I was around the most was (former Texas Rangers starter) Colby Lewis, who was our bullpen coach. Just a super genuine guy that I sat in the bullpen with and got some good advice from, got some good stories. That was a great honor, and I had fun.”
Using a four-pitch mix that includes a changeup, slider, curveball and fastball, Pittsburgh’s third-round pick in 2021 was up to 98.4 mph with the latter offering and joked that he was “bummed out” that his entrance into the game lined up with facing players he’d already seen in pro ball over competing against some new faces; he worked around a Kyle Teel double to retire Marcelo Mayer, Gavin Gross and Xavier Isaac to seal the 6-1 win.
Either way, it was a highlight in what’s been a year full of them for the 6-foot-2. 200-pounder, who is 5-5 with one save and a 3.53 ERA in 16 appearances (14 starts) thus far this year in Double-A, racking up 77 strikeouts in just 63.2 innings.
“I think it’s been pretty good, but you never want to get too high or too low, and I think that’s what I’ve been doing this year,” Chandler said. “It’s just staying consistent with the work every day, and at a certain point, you’re going to start seeing certain results.”
A lot of that thus far has come from the development of those secondary pitches, but it’s changeup that Baseball America has as a 55 on the 20-80 scouting scale that Chandler says he’s working on the most.
“Just throwing (all of) them for strikes, command comes with age and experience, and I think I’m in a good spot right now with that,” he said. “The only thing I’ll nitpick myself on over the last couple weeks is not landing my changeup for as many strikes as I want to. Still getting good swings and misses, weak contact, but wasting pitches in throwing the changeup. Even if it’s ten pitches, that’s possibly an inning … it’s just changing your aiming point with it, where you want to throw it and sitting down and looking at numbers and zones, like, ‘OK, when I throw it here, it does the least amount of damage.’ Every time you throw this pitch, have it in your mind that you want to throw it there, and that’s what I’m working on currently.”
The past, though? Chandler was a highly coveted multi-sport prep talent out of Georgia who was a two-way star as a baseball player and elite level quarterback before a reported $3 million signing bonus as the 72nd overall pick lured him out of a commitment to play both at Clemson.
He both pitched and was used in the field after signing in 2021 and for the full 2022 season, but shifted solely to pitching at the start of last year, which spiked his development on the mound.
“I mean, when you try to perfect one thing, it usually takes less time to perfect that one thing than it does two,” Chandler said. “I enjoy pitching, and I enjoy the struggles that come with it.”
Does he miss hitting at all?
“No, my back feels too good,” he cracked.
And football?
“Yeah, my body feels too good. My brain.”
Having narrowed his path, the future remains bright for Chandler, who is set to one day join Paul Skenes as a potential combo at the top of the Pirates rotation in the big leagues. For now, however, his next step comes in Bridgewater.
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