Bubba Chandler looks to build on experience
In only his third professional season, Bubba Chandler is trying to utilize that brief history wisdom to his advantage.
On the mound, Chandler has improved from an already impressive 2023. Preparing for his third Triple-A start on Thursday, Chandler has dominated in his first two. In 13 shutout innings, he has allowed just seven hits while striking out 17.
Still, history is the best teacher for the 21-year-old.
“I feel great (this year),” Chandler said. “It’s starting to get to that time of the year when your body starts to break down a little bit. I’m really just trying to stay on top of that, because I know at this time last year, every start and every pitch I had was an absolute grind, mentally and physically.”
First, on the physical side, Chandler said the main knowledge he was able to glean was less about his starting day and more about the time between. He said last August had a completely different feeling than this year.
The numbers don’t entirely tell the story. In August and September last season, Chandler worked 33 innings, allowing just 21 hits and eight earned runs. However, his strikeout numbers did drop to one per inning.
While Chandler was ready when his number was called, the recovery to prepare for his start was a challenge that he’s focused on.
“(I learned that) some days more is good, and some days less is more,” Chandler said. “I’m really trying to hone in on the routine.”
On the mental side, last season was the first that Chandler focused just on pitching rather than hitting as well. This provided a lot of downtime that he had never experienced during his baseball life.
Along with dealing with physical wear down, Chandler learned how to keep his mind fresh and locked in to provide the best version of himself.
“I think that I learned this year, I’m a guy who always has to be go-go-go,” Chandler said. “I try to jumble a lot of things throughout my day to keep my mind off pitching. I feel like the more things I have to do, the better I do things. Focusing on one thing, you tend to become a perfectionist.”
To limit that mental adversity, Chandler said that golf or even a simple morning walk have worked nicely as outlets.
What Chandler has learned has clearly pushed him to a new level. What’s more impressive is that he was not willing to settle on a strong 2023 and is about continuous improvement so early in his career.
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i'm echoing what nmr said but bubba sort of seems like jones on light speed development to me . I hate to say it , but a mere 14 months ago was wondering i he would bust and he's now looking like one of best starting prospects in milb.
in a weird way this has been one of chandler's more impressive outings to me. wasn't he near 25 pitches before he even recorded an out in the first inning?