Bubba Chandler Reportedly to Be Promoted by Pirates, MLB's No. 1 Pitching Prospect

The Pittsburgh Pirates are promoting right-handed starting pitcher Bubba Chandler, MLB.com's No. 7 overall prospect (No. 1 overall pitcher).

Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette broke the news on the 22-year-old Chandler, who has made 24 starts with Triple-A Indianapolis this season. During that stretch, Chandler has gone 5-6 with a 4.05 ERA, striking out 121 batters over 100 innings.

Pittsburgh selected Chandler with a third-round pick in the 2021 MLB draft out of North Oconee High School (Bogart, Georgia).

Chandler was once committed to play quarterback for Clemson but ended up with the Pirates, who gave him a $3 million signing bonus.

As Hiles noted, Chandler was a two-way player at first before exclusively moving to pitcher in 2023.

Chandler really caught his stride in 2024, notably making seven starts for Triple-A Indianapolis and going 4-0 with an 1.83 ERA in seven starts.

Those numbers have taken a dip in 2025, in part because Chandler has experienced some issues with control (53 walks in 100 innings). However, he's posted an impressive 10.9 K/9 rate and has clearly shown enough at Triple-A to get the call up to the bigs.

Hiles provided more information on Chandler and how the Pirates plan to use him.

"Sources told the Post-Gazette that Chandler will be added to the Pirates' active roster Friday. Chandler will initially be used in a bulk role out of the bullpen, similar to how rookie right-hander Braxton Ashcraft has been deployed. He will also have an opportunity to start games for the Pirates in 2025."

Per Hiles, presuming Chandler throws fewer than 50 innings in 2025, he will still have his rookie status for the 2026 campaign.