Pittsburgh Pirates get fantastic pitching in the minors on 4th of July

A strong night of pitching in the Pirates' system.

Jul 05, 2025

The strength of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ minor league system still resides in the pitching. Even though they graduated Paul Skenes and Jared Jones, and will have two more move on soon (Braxton Ashcraft and Mike Burrows) the organization still has plenty of arms up and down the system.

Things don’t often align this way, but they had quite the special night on the Fourth of July in the Pirates’ system.

Not only did one affiliate throw a combined perfect game, but each starter across each full-season level was fantastic.

The four starters combined to allow one unearned run over 23.2 innings, giving up nine hits and four walks while striking out 22.

Here’s a look at how each starter did on Friday:

Bubba Chandler, RHP Indianapolis Indians

6 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 6 K

It’s been a rough stretch for Chandler, especially in June. In five starts, he allowed 17 hits, 12 earned runs (8.53 ERA), and had more walks (12) than strikeouts (11) over 12.2 innings pitched.

Making his first start of July, he looked a lot more like one of the top prospects in all of baseball. Chandler tossed six shutout innings, allowing five hits and two walks while striking out six.

He threw 91 pitches, 59 of which were for strikes, and averaged 97.4 mph with his fastball. We’ve seen him generate more misses, but still managed 14 on 39 swings (36%).

His slider did the majority of the work, getting seven whiffs on 14 swings.

Antwone Kelly, RHP Altoona Curve

5.2 IP, 2 H, BB, 6 K

Making his second start for the Altoona Curve, Kelly was even better this time around. Facing the Harrisburg Senators on the road, he tossed 5.2 shutout innings, allowing two hits and a walk while striking out six.

Kelly threw 79 pitches, 51 going for strikes. He would have had more pitches to work with, but the defense committed two errors in the fifth, causing him to throw more pitches.

He has a 0.84 ERA in two starts at Double-A and generated 10 swings and misses (12.6 SwStr%). According to the broadcast, he hit 101 mph with his fastball and was still in the upper 90s in the sixth.

Khristian Curtis, RHP Greensboro Grasshoppers

6 IP, 10 K

A very straightforward statline for Curtis, as he was a part of the Greensboro Perfect Game that included Jake Shirk and Mike Walsh.

Curtis has long had the stuff, but he’s struggled with his control, which has derailed a lot of his starts. This start showed what he is capable of when it all comes together for him.

He struck out a career-high 10 batters over six perfect innings. Of his 85 pitches, 55 were for strikes, and he generated 15 swing and misses (17.6 SwStr%). Curtis finished strong, striking out the side in the sixth inning, allowing him to reach double-digits.

Victor Cabreja, LHP Bradenton Marauders

6 IP, 2 H, R (0 ER), BB

While Cabreja is more of a depth pitcher, he has been fantastic this season for the Bradenton Marauders. He began the season as a reliever, but was thrust into the rotation with injuries.

He doesn’t strike out many batters (he didn’t record any last night), but Cabreja works quickly and pitches to contact. He’s mainly a fastball/change-up guy, which, as a lefty, works well against righties.

Friday night was his seventh win of the season, which leads the Pirates’ system.

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