Coming into 2025, Bubba Chandler was widely touted as the top pitching prospect in baseball. The Pirates eventually called him up in August. His stuff (115 + Pitching and 109 + Stuff per Fangraphs) was electric in his first MLB look last season. He posted a 4.02 ERA, with a 4–1 record, 31 K, 4 BB in 31.1 innings. A very strong debut. He dominated over his final three starts, posting a 1.98 ERA with 19 strikeouts and zero walks.
Pitch mix
Chandler throws a four-seam fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup, with his fastball and slider being the money pitches.
Fastball: It comes in hot around the upper-90s and touches three digits at times.
Slider: His slider is a weapon to righties who batted .087 against it. His slider has a PLV of 5.48, which is the 10th-best in the majors.
Changeup: He uses the changeup against lefties, and it is very effective with a whiff rate of 39.6%.
Curveball: He uses his curveball less. Its not a great curveball and something he might want to improve.
Command/Approach
Chandler walked just four hitters in his first 31.1 big league innings. This level of command is impressive for a rookie. He struck out 31 batters with a 0.93 WHIP.
He was especially good at getting hitters to chase and miss when they did. He locates up in the zone effectively, which paired with his velocity, makes him hard to hit.
2026 Outlook
He is penciled in to start the year in the Pirates rotation as a mid-rotation starter. He could easily breakout this season given his stuff. As his pitch mix and sequencing matures he could be a star in the Pittsburgh rotation. It would be good to see him go 140 – 160 innings.
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