Morning Rundown: Bubba Chandler To Development List, Other Roster Moves
The 20-year-old right-handed pitcher recently topped 100 innings pitched on the season.
This year was going to be an interesting one from right-handed pitcher Bubba Chandler. After being drafted as a two-way player, and spending last year doing both, he was going to focus solely on the mound in 2023.
It went probably exactly how you’d expect, showing flashes, but also having plenty of room to grow. He got stronger as the season went on, including pitching seven shutout innings without walking a batter his last time out.
That was actually the second time he achieved that feat just in the month of August, and doing so this past time out he crossed over the 100 innings pitched mark on the season.
Throwing just 41.1 innings last year (plus time in extended spring training), Chandler still shot past his total last year, and at 20-years-old it wouldn’t have been much of a surprise if they started to throttle back with only three potential starts left going into the weekend.
Well, the Pirates decided to put on Chandler on the Development List on Sunday, potentially ending his season - albeit on a really high note.
With it being the second start in the same week, it is possible they decided to give him a breather and have him finish out the season with just two starts left (against Hickory and Bowling Green).
If his season is done, he will finish with 115 strikeouts in the 101 innings he pitched, all the while being a 20-year-old in High-A. If not, he will get a shot to face top five pick from this most recent draft, Wyatt Langford, who plays for Hickory.
A couple of other roster transactions that took place Sunday, Cody Bolton and Osvaldo Bido swapped places between Pittsburgh and Indianapolis. Bolton has been up and done, a lot, this season.
Outside his eight run blowup on May 29, he’s allowed just three others to cross home plate in his other eight games. He’s also not surrendered a run in the five games since that blowup.
Bido had some moments after getting thrusted into the rotation, but has struggled and gave up eight earned runs while walking five batters in his last outing that lasted just 2.1 innings.
Hudson Head was also activated by the Greensboro Grasshoppers. He had been rehabbing with the FCL team recently, no heads back to High-A to close out the season.
Before playing on Saturday, he had last played for Greensboro on May 30th.
Minor League Recap 8/27
Indianapolis Indians - 2 vs Iowa Cubs - 1
Top Hitter - Nick Gonzales: 2-5, 2 2B
Top Pitcher - Jared Jones: 6 IP, 2 H, ER, 4 BB, 10 K
Altoona Curve - 2 vs Akron RubberDucks - 9
Top Hitter - Tsung-Che Cheng: 1-3, BB, 2B
Top Pitcher - Grant Ford: IP, K
Greensboro Grasshoppers - 5 vs Rome Braves - 6
Top Hitter - Luke Brown: 3-4, R, 3 RBI, HR (5)
Top Pitcher - Jack Carey: 2 IP, H, 4 K
Bradenton Marauders - 5 vs Jupiter Hammerheads - 6
Top Hitter - Omar Alfonzo: 2-5, 2 RBI
Top Pitcher - Jorge Ramos: 2 IP, 2 H, 4 K
DSL Pirates Gold - 3 vs DSL Phillies White - 1
Top Hitter - Tony Blanco Jr.: 1-4, R, 2 RBI, HR (1)
Top Pitcher - Victor Cabreja: 7 IP, 5 H, ER, BB, 3 K
Luke Brown, the other Louisville Slugger.
If the Pirates roll into year five (!) of this rebuild with a rotation consisting of Keller, Oviedo, cheap free agent (Velasquez?), and some blob of the remaining options tried this year...then have some "oooooh just you wait until June" BS going on. Hell and no.