Pirates No. 1 Prospect Bubba Chandler Named IL Pitcher of the Week

INDIANAPOLIS – Minor League Baseball and the Indianapolis Indians today announced that the Pittsburgh Pirates No. 1 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, right-handed pitcher Bubba Chandler, has been named the International League Pitcher of the Week after tossing 7.0 shutout innings in his Triple-A debut on Aug. 9.

Chandler, 21, was promoted from Double-A Altoona to Indianapolis on Aug. 8 and made his Triple-A debut the next day at First Horizon Park against the Nashville Sounds. He took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and earned the win after allowing just two base knocks with one walk and six strikeouts.

Currently rated by MLB Pipeline as the No. 48 prospect in MiLB, Chandler has the lowest WHIP (0.62) and second-lowest batting average against (.140) among all full-season MiLB qualifiers since June 21. In 19 games with Altoona (16 starts), he went 6-7 with a 3.70 ERA (33er/80.1ip), 94 strikeouts, 1.01 WHIP and .192 batting average against (55-for-287).

Chandler was selected by Pittsburgh in the third round (72nd overall) of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft out of North Oconee (Bogart, Ga.) High School. He is the first Indians pitcher to earn the IL weekly honor since Caleb Smith on May 8, 2023.