Pirates prospect Bubba Chandler feeling himself grow as player, person this year in Double-A

Bubba Chandler has a leg up on the vast majority of 21-year-olds when it comes to the ability to self-reflect.

Of course, most young adults his age aren’t prized MLB prospects.

But Chandler hasn’t let his high standing in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization (No. 2, per MLB Pipeline) affect his ability to look in the mirror and tell himself hard truths.

This past spring, Chandler concluded — and admitted publicly — that he spent a chunk of last season focusing far too much on advancing past High-A Greensboro as quickly as possible, which impacted his performance on the mound.

Chandler, a third-round pick in 2021, was able to correct course and impressed Pirates management enough to promote him to Double-A Altoona late in the year, where he began this season.

As this year has gone on, Chandler feels like he has grown on and off the field.

“I think I’m a totally different person now rather than just being a pitcher or athlete,” said Chandler, who was committed to play football and baseball at Clemson before signing with the Pirates. “I went through a lot of hard battles last year. It’s just a game, but this game is, hopefully, how I’m going to feed my family one day. I feel completely different from last year. I feel stronger mentally and physically.

“It’s showed. I haven’t pitched as good as I can pitch, but the last four starts have been really good. I’m kind of trending upward, which is where you want to be at this time of the year, these dog days of the summer.”

Chandler was recently named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week behind a career-high 10-strikeout performance June 21 against the Bowie Baysox.

In his next start against the Akron RubberDucks, Chandler made quick work of his strikeout record, posting 11.

Much deserved standing ovation for Bubba Chandler

6.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 11 K on 98 pitches, 64 strikes pic.twitter.com/GrEu3ou4VM

— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) June 27, 2024

On the year, he is 4-5 with a 4.17 ERA in 54 innings and has struck out 68 compared to 22 walks.

Bubba Chandler is throwing strikes at a 69% mark(62% lg avg) over his last 5 starts. Over that span: 36% K/3% BB w/a 2.49 ERA. The arsenal is impressive with a 97-98 mph fastball, a changeup that gets a ton of fade and an upper-80s slider with plus sweeppic.twitter.com/pouYFc8iK3

— Chris Clegg (@RotoClegg) June 28, 2024

During his outing against Bowie, Chandler felt it was particularly notable how he was able to sequence his fastball, slider, curveball and changeup efficiently.

“(It) was the first time I mixed well, picked the pitches I needed to in certain counts, and results were great,” he said. “Only threw 50% fastballs, so that’s the first time, probably in my career, I’ve done that. Felt good, got a lot of swings and misses, strikeouts and weak contact, which is the name of the game.”

Chandler said there have been times this year when he has not felt confident in his changeup.

He was also noticing a less-than-ideal level of contact when throwing the curveball.

Earlier this season, command was an issue.

In a previous start against Akron on May 17, he issued five walks, tying his career worst as a pro.

“My stuff’s been really good this year, but at the same time, if you don’t control your stuff, you’re not going to be able to get guys out,” he said. “If you’re not in the zone a lot, guys will take the first pitch because it’s probably going to be a ball.”

That led to an over-reliance on the fastball, which, despite regularly clocking in the mid-to-upper 90s, wasn’t overwhelming batters.

“Bubba’s fastball is elite,” Curve manager Robby Hammock said. “But because it’s elite doesn’t mean you can throw it over and over. Doesn’t mean it can’t be touched. It can be fouled off, and that’s how his pitch count runs up. They foul it off, they take the balls and foul off the fastballs again.

“It’s hard to just blow it by people the higher levels you go, so it’s very important to be able to throw offspeed and throw it for strikes to make the fastball play better. When you start getting into the 50% offspeed, 50% heater range, that’s where it just makes the fastball play up even better.”

Chandler’s tribulations with sequencing and keeping hitters off-balance is far from exclusive.

While he tinkers in the minors, two notable former peers, both of whom are not far removed from being prospects themselves, are experimenting in similar ways with the Pirates.

“My mindset the last couple weeks has been: throw it down the middle,” Chandler said. “Jared Jones, that’s what he does. Same deal for Paul (Skenes). They’re not trying to nibble. They’re trying to attack guys. I’m trying to get in that mindset of doing that.”

The Pirates know every start won’t see him set a new career high in strikeouts, and there is sure to be more adversity he will need to overcome on his ascent through the minors.

But for the pitcher in the vanguard of the Pirates’ next wave of prospective difference-makers, things are looking up.

“He’s still learning and growing and developing,” general manager Ben Cherington said. “It’s not a straight line. There’s going to be days where it doesn’t all work that way. He’s certainly arcing in the right direction.”