'I just grew up': Change in mentality made difference for Pirates prospect Bubba Chandler

ALTOONA — Bubba Chandler arrived this week with a strong feeling of accomplishment, given that his goal was to end the season here, but a greater sense of humility after a slow start.

A 20-year-old right-hander who is a top-10 prospect for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Chandler is scheduled to make his Double-A debut for the Curve on Friday night at Peoples Natural Gas Field. Although he is only two hours from his goal of playing at PNC Park, Chandler learned the hard way to concentrate on taking what he calls “little steps.”

A day after the Pirates shut down Paul Skenes and placed the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft on the development list, Chandler was promoted to take his place in the Curve rotation.

Chandler was 9-4 with a 4.75 ERA and 1.50 WHIP with 120 strikeouts and 51 walks in 106 innings over 24 starts for High-A Greensboro, thanks to a bounce-back July and August.

What’s clicked?

“Really just my mentality,” said Chandler, who turns 21 on Thursday. “If you want to put it plain and simple, I was kind of soft in the first half. I was immature, to say the least. I pitched immature. I just threw and hoped for the best, rather than focusing on my craft day to day and preparing the right way like the guys around me did down in Greensboro.”

Pirates top-10 prospect RHP Bubba Chandler on what’s been clicking in the second half to earn a promotion to Double-A Altoona. pic.twitter.com/V3AI1f42PJ

— Kevin Gorman (@KevinGormanPGH) September 8, 2023

Chandler got a dose of reality when left-hander Anthony Solometo, a fellow 20-year-old drafted 35 spots ahead of him in 2021, went 2-3 with a 2.30 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in 58 2/3 innings over 12 starts at Greensboro and earned a mid-June promotion to Altoona.

“Me and Anthony were the youngest guys there. Anthony did a good job of it. I did not,” Chandler said. “And it kind of took two-and-a-half, three months to realize that. I went home at the All-Star break and gathered myself and came back and said, ‘This is what I’m going to do. If it doesn’t work, we have a lot to think about.’ ”

Chandler allowed at least three earned runs in five of his first nine starts in April and May, striking out 39 with 27 walks. He had a 9.53 ERA in May, with almost as many walks (15) as strikeouts (18). He improved in June with 32 strikeouts against eight walks but still had a 6.65 ERA.

Then came July, when Chandler showed why the Pirates selected him in the third round (72nd overall) and signed him to a $3 million bonus to convince him to bypass a scholarship to play quarterback at Clemson. He was 3-0 with a 2.57 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 21 innings over four starts. Last month, Chandler went 2-1 with a 2.74 ERA and 1.00 WHIP in 23 innings over four starts.

“It’s plain and simple,” Chandler said. “If you asked my High-A manager (Robby Hammock), ‘How was Bubba in April and May versus July and August?’ He’d be like, ‘I didn’t recognize him.’ Very different, I’d say more motivated. Just grew up.”

In his 7 starts since coming back from the All-Star break, RHP Bubba Chandler has been living up to the hype. #LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/vfi5bYHA0H

— Pittsburgh Pirates Player Development Report (@PGHplayerDev) September 2, 2023

Ranked the best athlete with the best fastball in the Pirates’ system by Baseball America, Chandler learned to attack hitters by pitching mad. What he found was that it helped him get synched so that he had better placement of his pitches, which made Chandler more efficient.

“You’re always told to just throw the ball. Don’t baby it and all that,” he said. “I was just throwing it. I didn’t have any conviction behind anything. I wasn’t throwing a lot, and I wasn’t commanding anything. I realized if you want to have success, you have to do those things. One big thing for me was just being convicted and throwing every pitch like it’s my last, like I’m really (ticked) off at the hitter.”

Chandler carries himself with confidence. He made the nine-hour drive Wednesday from Bowling Green, Ky., where Greensboro was playing, arrived an hour or so ahead of the rest of the players and walked into Curve manager Callix Crabbe’s office wearing a big smile.

“He’s a cool dude. Free spirit. Young,” Crabbe said. “He was talking quickly about the adjustments that he’s had to make from being a dual player to now pitching and the challenges. And now having a better sense of how to navigate his days. That was him starting the conversation. Initial impressions are that he’s a fun kid. He’s very competitive. He’s kind of a goofball in certain areas. But that’s a good thing, though. Some guys take themselves too seriously. Obviously, they’re pros, and they’re supposed to do that. But there comes a point where you have to remember that it’s a game. You have to have fun with your teammates. He’s a good kid. He’s fun.”

BUBBA CHANDLER ARE YOU KIDDING ME pic.twitter.com/TNgZUX1h9r

— Young Bucs (@YoungBucsPIT) August 24, 2022

As much as Chandler said he’s trying not to act his age, there are times he can’t help himself. Asked if he has pressed pause on his dreams of being a two-way player, Chandler couldn’t help but crack a joke.

“It’s buffering, man,” Chandler said. “The pause button, I just exit it out of video. I don’t think I’m going to hit. Nor do I want to hit anymore.”

Chandler batted .196 (20 for 102) with three doubles, two triples, four home runs and 17 RBIs in 46 games last season, with much of his success coming in the Florida Complex League. He hit .184 with a .574 OPS in 32 games at Low-A Bradenton before abandoning the idea of playing shortstop and serving as designated hitter.

“Shohei Ohtani is a god,” Chandler said, in awe of the Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar. “I couldn’t imagine playing at least five times a week, pitching seven innings a week and doing that every five days and playing every day. I like to think of myself as a good athlete.

“It’s really fun to hit, but it’s also really hard to hit. Every single hitter on this team, in the lineup and on the bench, is a way better hitter than I ever was. So, no, there’s not a chance that I hit again unless some crazy stuff happens. It was fun, but stuff comes to an end and that needed to come to an end, unfortunately. It was really fun. Striking out a lot but it was really fun.”

Chandler appears more concerned with learning his craft as a pitcher, especially with the chance to chat with Skenes and watch how he works in the weight room and bullpen sessions. Where Chandler can envision Skenes pitching in the majors next year, he knows that he still has a long way to go.

“It’s a long journey. That’s the coolest part about it,” Chandler said. “You want to go up each level every year. When you get to the big leagues, that’s the last level. Whenever you succeed, no matter what age you’re at, it’s the coolest thing in the world. Whether that’s next year or in 10 years, I’ll be as happy as I can be.”