Two things immediately stuck out to me when watching Bubba Chandler pitch on Friday night, his second time on the mound this season.
He found him self in a lot of three ball counts, which is never good and a big part as to why he finished with 3.2 innings pitched and only 35 strikes among his 66 pitches.
He did make good use of those non-pitcher friendly counts, and seemed a lot more willing to throw his secondary offerings — as opposed to just relying on his fastball, which is among the best in the system.
Maybe it didn’t work out for him that night, he ended up walking four and had a wild pitch that allowed a runner to score, but there will be a bigger pay off down the road when it comes to his development.
This might not be the most eye pleasing season when it comes to a prospect like Chandler. He’s already going to be playing his home games in one of the most hitter friendly ball parks in the minors, and he’s still very much a raw prospect.
It would be easy to lean on the fastball in those situations, even if it meant him being able to say he got out of the inning, but he challenged himself to go away from his best stuff to try and become a better overall pitcher.
That immediately reminds me of something Quinn Priester said last year, about allowing himself to fail, but learning from it immediately. It didn’t work for him on Friday night. If he was able to learn something — like the pitch in general is a bad call in this situation, or that he could have placed it better — it seems like a win in the long run.
— Greensboro may be that team you tune into when you feel like watching a high scoring game. It’s nothing against the pitchers there, but the rotation is incredibly young, and learning, which could lead to a lot of growing pains.
Fun to watch now, even more fun to watch later as the pitchers learn from their time in Greensboro.
— Enmanuel Torrero had gone 0-for-his-first-17 with Bradenton to begin the year, heading into Friday night’s game.
He finished a double short of the cycle, going 4-for-5 with six RBI and two runs scored. It seems like I mention it on a nightly basis, but there’s plenty to like when it comes to this Bradenton team, at least when it comes to upside.
Torrero is another one, who’s also showing a decent approach at the plate (five walks to seven strikeouts).
Daily Video Rundown
An absolutely amazing play from Altoona shortstop Andres Alvarez to get the out at first base.
Andres Alvarez, fielding his position. Great play to get the second out of the inning #LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/imb7sPN4I5
— Anthony Murphy (@__Murphy88) April 14, 2023
Drew Maggi with a two run single for the Curve, this one tying the game in the sixth inning.
Tie game! Drew Maggi brings home two runs on a single up the middle and we are tied at two in the sixth!
LISTEN: https://t.co/aioWvW3Svf
WATCH: https://t.co/6GP894jPtF pic.twitter.com/tch2wJ3k5q— Altoona Curve (@AltoonaCurve) April 14, 2023
PIRATES PROSPECTS DAILY
By Tim Williams
Pirates Recap: Pirates Throw Away Great Effort by Johan Oviedo
Prospect Watch: Enmanuel Terrero Has a Career Day; Pitching Prospects Have a Third Straight Rough Day
**Thomas Harrington: Secondary Pitches Shine In Professional Debut
**Austin Hedges and Robert Stephenson Rejoin the Pirates; Chase De Jong Lands on the Injured List
**Dylan Crews Goes to Pirates in Latest Mock Draft
SONG OF THE DAY
