Pirates Top Prospect Learning From Paul Skenes
Pittsburgh Pirates' ace Paul Skenes and top pitching prospect Bubba Chandler have already become well acquainted with each other.
Chandler spoke about how he and Skenes spent some time together last offseason. Through the time spent together, Chandler noted how similar pitchers he and Skenes are and the two share a very similar warm-up routine before they pitch.
I love watching Paul Skenes' Warm Up Routine
— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) July 5, 2024
I imagine a lot of these movement patterns apply to Quarterbacks as well! pic.twitter.com/vCYBmlGOwS
"We trained together this last offseason, and we we are similar pitchers in kind of the way we do [and] kind of the way we work about stuff and go throughout our day to day," Chandler said. "The water back stuff is good for your core [and] big with transferring your energy from one part of your body to the other part of your body."
Chandler and Skenes may soon be in the big leagues atop the Pirates' rotation. Chandler is the Pirates' top-ranked prospect and No. 15 in baseball by MLB Pipeline. MLB Pipeline also tabbed Chandler as Pittsburgh's pitcher of the year in the minor leagues.
Across Double-A Altoona and Triple-A Indianapolis, Chandler was 10-7 with a 3.08 ERA over 26 appearances, including 23 starts and struck out 148 batters over 119.2 innings pitched. He also held opponents to a .189 batting average and had a 1.02 WHIP.
Chandler was especially impressive in Triple-A, going 4-0 with a 1.87 ERA over seven starts.
Skenes had a brief stint in Indianapolis, making seven starts and pitching to a 0.99 ERA before getting called up to Pittsburgh in early May. The 2023 No. 1 overall pick went on to have a historic rookie season, going 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA in 23 starts and struck out a Pirates rookie record 170 batters over 133 innings pitched.
If Chandler can live up to the billing as a top prospect, Pittsburgh could have one of the league's more formidable young trios atop its rotation alongside Skenes and Jared Jones. Regardless of where the 2025 season leads, Chandler knows the importance of putting his team first rather than focusing on individual accolades.
"Every single time I touch the field, I'm gonna give everything I got," Chandler said. "Just showing guys that I really care about team success and not my success. With team success comes individual success."
