Full Count: Pirates await arrival of top prospect Bubba Chandler, a 'superstar in the making'

Bubba Chandler already is one of the top prospects in baseball — rising to No. 2 in MLB Pipeline and No. 3 in Baseball America rankings — so the 22-year-old pitcher needs no endorsements to explain his potential.

Chandler got a glowing one anyway.

“I think he’s a superstar in the making,” Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Henry Davis told TribLive. “The more he pitches and the more he’s challenged, the better he’ll do. He’s responded to every challenge he’s had.”

Describing what makes Chandler special, Davis noted the 6-foot-3, 218-pound right-hander’s quick arm action, athletic delivery down the mound, repeatable mechanics and how he tunnels his changeup and breaking pitches so everything plays well off the heater.

“I’ve seen a lot of good fastballs. He’s got the best fastball I’ve ever seen,” Davis said. “He’s throwing 100 (mph). The analytics are phenomenal. He just kind of lulls you into it, then it’s lightning quick arm. If it’s possible for 100 to play up, it does. I could see Bubba having success in the big leagues throwing 70% fastballs.”

Even more amazing is that those words come from the personal catcher to Paul Skenes, whose four-seam fastball topped triple digits 17 times and touched 101 mph six times on his way to winning National League rookie of the Year and finishing third in Cy Young voting last season.

By posting a 2.03 ERA and 1.07 WHIP while averaging 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings through his first 11 starts at Triple-A Indianapolis — including taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning May 24 at Toledo and five shutout innings Friday against Nashville — Chandler proved he is ready to make his major-league debut.

That call could come any day. Chandler said in January at PiratesFest that it’s one he’s been awaiting since the offseason.

“It’s in the back of your mind,” Chandler said. “You want to get to the big leagues, want to succeed and want to win for the city you play for.”

Chandler was expected to be on a similar timeline as Skenes, whose pitch and innings counts were carefully moderated in the minors before he made his 2024 MLB debut May 11. Instead, Chandler has watched the Pirates promote top-15 prospects Thomas Harrington, Mike Burrows and Braxton Ashcraft before him.

“Certainly, he’s performing well and we’re seeing the pitches are getting Triple-A hitters out,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said. “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.”

With Chandler stuck at Indianapolis, Davis called and had an hour-long conversation with his friend and former roommate who was selected by the Pirates in the same 2021 MLB Draft class. Davis warned Chandler about teams manipulating service time to avoid Super Two status and told him to treat every start the same.

“You can add this pressure to yourself and try to be perfect to force the hand when it’s really not possible,” Davis said. “There’s other things going on, when the team can benefit from a year of control, from you being down for a little bit. There’s certain things that are just out of his control, so controlling what he can control and being the most prepared that he can and not trying to do too much. Just be Bubba and throw the ball over the strike zone and give your team a chance to win, whether that’s here or in Indy. Trust that when he’s here, he’s going to help.”

A talent evaluator told TribLive last month that Chandler’s fastball and changeup are major-league ready, but his curveball and slider needed sharpening. At Toledo, he used the slider to get two of his five strikeouts. As dominant as Chandler was in allowing one hit over 6 1/3 innings, he also hit one batter and walked four. So, there’s work to do.

Davis is a firm believer that Chandler will “thrive” being in the same clubhouse as Skenes, who turned 23 on Thursday but whose training regimen and pitching routine have become legendary.

“Bubba is a true sponge,” Davis said. “He’s just got this really nice balance of true self-confidence and the ability to learn and make adjustments when he needs to get better. He’s incredibly coachable. I bounce between saying he’s coachable and a sponge because he learns from his teammates, too. The more he’s around better influences, the better he’s going to get. He’s all ears, ready to listen and learn. When you’re largely a superstar at that level — he’s the best player on the team — it can be easy to tune out some of the voices and think you know what to do, and he never does that. That’s a testament to his character, his parents and his aptitude to learn.”

That sentiment was echoed by Pirates bullpen coach Miguel Perez, the Indianapolis manager last season when Chandler was promoted from Double-A Altoona on Aug. 8.

“You were always looking forward to seeing the day he was going to pitch because his stuff was electric,” Perez said of Chandler. “He came up from Double-A, and you could see the potential, the freshness of his arm and how good he wants to be. It was fun to watch him pitch.”

Perez enjoyed the excitement of starting the season with one top pitching prospect in Skenes and finishing it with another in Chandler. Where Skenes had a 0.99 ERA, 0.92 WHIP and 45 strikeouts in 27 1/3 innings over seven starts at Indy, Chandler was 4-0 with a 1.83 ERA, 1.04 WHP and 54 strikeouts in 39 1/3 innings over seven starts. What Perez found refreshing was that Chandler was both approachable and coachable.

“This guy wants to be one of the best; in order to be the best, you’ve got to be like him,” Perez said. “He’s willing to take whatever coaches ask him to do because he wants to be the best. He wants feedback, and he asks questions. It’s fun to have him around. He’s a great teammate. He’s always pulling for his guys, always with a winning mindset. He’s a competitor. I don’t have enough words to say how good he was for me last year.”

Those traits are what separate Chandler, a Clemson quarterback recruit who gave up college football to sign for an above-slot $3 million bonus as a third-round pick. Like Skenes, who won the John Olerud Award as the nation’s top two-way player as a sophomore pitcher/catcher at Air Force, Chandler split his first pro season-plus playing shortstop and serving as designated hitter while pitching 41 1/3 innings over 14 appearances.

Speaking from first-hand experience, Skenes believes the experience of hitting and playing the field won’t hurt Chandler. So far, he’s right. Where Skenes had 390 strikeouts in a combined 269 innings between college and the minors, Chandler has 397 Ks over 315 2/3 innings in the minors with only two full seasons as a PO (pitcher-only).

“Just being an athlete, it doesn’t hurt when you’re pitching,” Skenes said. “That’s going to be fun to watch. He’s going to make us a better team. He’ll be fun to be around. He’ll have an opportunity to come in here and lead in his own way — not as a big culture guy who’s going to go up in front of the locker room and speak, but as guys see how he goes about his business. It’s going to be good for other guys to be around it. He’s a guy who responds to challenges. If you tell him to do something, he’s going to figure out a way to do it. It’s one of those things with prospects: Who knows what he’s going to be when he comes up? But I think he’s going to figure it out.”

With all of the uncertainty around his call-up, one thing is for sure: Whenever Chandler joins the Pirates, he’ll be coming in hot.