Bubba Chandler, a 22-year-old hard-throwing right-hander and top pitching prospect, threw four scoreless innings in relief to earn the save in a 9-0 Pirates win over the Colorado Rockies. He became the third pitcher since 1980 to record a four-inning save in his MLB debut. Chandler’s first pitch was a 99 mph fastball; he allowed a double to Orlando Arcia as his lone mistake and finished with multiple strikeouts, including a 100 mph strikeout of Ryan Ritter. The Pirates will use Chandler in relief as an "on ramp" to the majors, with a future opportunity to start while monitoring his 100-inning minor-league workload.
The hard-throwing 22-year-old right-hander, considered the top pitching prospect in baseball, threw four scoreless innings in relief to get the save in a 9-0 win over the Colorado Rockies on Friday night. Chandler became the third pitcher since 1980 to record a four-inning save in his MLB debut, joining Keaton Winn in 2023 and Zack Thompson in 2022, according to ESPN Research.
Chandler's first pitch in the majors was a 99 mph fastball that Orlando Arcia fouled off. Arcia took a 97 mph heater for a ball, then laced a 98 mph four-seamer off the left-field wall for a double. It was the lone mistake Chandler would make. He fanned Ryan Ritter on a 100 mph fastball that painted the outside corner, induced Tyler Freeman to ground out to second, and then struck out Mickey Moniak swinging on another triple-digit fastball.
The Pirates plan to use Chandler in a relief role for now as a way of creating what manager Don Kelly called an "on ramp" to the majors, a strategy the club used earlier this season after calling up Ashcraft. Chandler will have an opportunity to start at some point, though the club is keeping a careful eye on his workload. He threw 100 innings in the minors this seas
Collection
[
|
...
]