Bubba

Chandler

With just one strikeout of the 12 batters he faced, Chandler didn’t seem to be on his way to a very good outing anyway. He still has a 2.49 ERA and a 70/22 K/BB in 49 2/3 innings overall, and he seems ready for his first look in the major leagues.

It’s unclear how close the Pirates are to promoting Chandler for his first taste of the majors, but it seems like a mistake to keep wasting starts like this in the minors when he’s capable of making an impact at the highest level, even for a non-contending team. The hard-throwing top pitching prospect boasts a microscopic 2.03 ERA and 69/21 K/BB ratio across 48 2/3 innings (11 starts) this season at the Triple-A level. He’s one of the few prospects that fantasy managers in re-draft formats should be stashing.

Chandler authored a dominant performance in his latest Triple-A gem, carrying a no-hit bid into the seventh inning before finally giving up a single and a walk, which ended his longest outing of the season. Both runs were charged to him following his exit from the contest. The electrifying 22-year-old righty has looked like a potential fantasy ace, recording a stellar 2.27 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 61/20 K/BB ratio across 43 2/3 innings (10 starts). It’s hard to imagine what else Pittsburgh’s front office needs to see before he gets his opportunity in the majors.

We’re sure Burrows is not the right-handed pitcher that many people wanted the Pirates to call up. Bubba Chandler started in Triple-A on Sunday, which means he would only be on three days’ rest on Thursday. Rather than move everybody in the rotation up one day and bring Chandler up to start on Friday, it seems that the Pirates would rather go with Burrows pitching on normal rest. Burrows has been solid in his own right this season, pitching to a 2.51 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and 41:11 K:BB ratio in 32 1/3 innings at Triple-A. Given how Milwaukee has struggled offensively lately, Burrows could be an option as a streamer in deeper formats.

Chandler maxed out at 99.8 mph and generated 15 swinging strikes in his latest impressive outing on the doorstep of the majors. The hard-throwing 22-year-old top pitching prospect holds a pristine 2.17 ERA and 56 strikeouts over 37 1/3 innings across nine starts this season at the Triple-A level. It’s only a matter of time before Pittsburgh gives him an extended opportunity in the majors.

It’s time. Chandler lowered his ERA to a microscopic 1.91 mark with five shutout frames as he continues to look like the best pitching prospect in baseball. The hard-throwing 22-year-old righty is up to 49 punchouts over 33 innings (eight starts) this season at the Triple-A level. It’s time to see how Chandler fares in the big leagues since he seemingly has very little left to prove in the minors. He’s one of the few prospects left in the minors that fantasy managers should be stashing, even in shallow mixed leagues.

Chandler struck out five and walked four on the day, so the command was certainly not pristine. However, all three runs came on a home run on the tenth pitch of a long battle. He had 12 whiffs on the day and still seems likely to debut for Pittsburgh during the next homestand on May 19. He’s the top prospect stash in fantasy baseball right now.

Chandler seems ready for a shot, so at this point, it’s just about whether the Pirates want to wait for the soft Super Two arbitration deadline to pass before promoting him. The 22-year-old has a 1.42 ERA and a 36/7 K/BB in 25 1/3 innings for Indianapolis. His 71-pitch outing last night produced 15 whiffs and a 44 percent CSW.

The numbers are getting a little absurd as Chandler’s latest scoreless outing leaves him with a microscopic 1.33 ERA, 0.64 WHIP and 27/6 K/BB ratio across 20 1/3 innings (five starts) this season at the Triple-A level. The 22-year-old righty averaged 98.4 mph on his fastball and touched triple digits five times in the fifth inning on Friday. He’s up there with Phillies phenom Andrew Painter as arguably the top pitching prospect in baseball and it feels like he’s knocking on the door of the majors. He’s one of the few pitching prospects that fantasy managers should be stashing, even in shallow re-draft formats.

We’re getting close here. Chandler touched triple digits on four separate occasions with his four-seam fastball and averaged 98.8 mph on the offering. The hard-throwing 22-year-old generated 10 swinging strikes and finished with an elite 42 percent CSW on 52 pitches, throwing 37 strikes. He’s arguably the top pitching prospect in the minor leagues at this stage and should get a chance to contribute for Pittsburgh at some point in the coming weeks.