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
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**Dylan Crews Goes to Pirates in Latest Mock Draft
SONG OF THE DAY
Anthony began writing over 10 years ago, starting a personal blog to cover the 2011 MLB draft, where the Pirates selected first overall. After bouncing around many websites covering hockey, he refocused his attention to baseball, his first love when it comes to sports. He eventually found himself here at Pirates Prospects in late 2021, where he covers the team’s four full season minor league affiliates.
Tim started Pirates Prospects in 2009 from his home in Virginia, which was 40 minutes from where Pedro Alvarez made his pro debut in Lynchburg. That year, the Lynchburg Hillcats won the Carolina League championship, and Pirates Prospects was born from Tim's reporting along the way. The site has grown over the years to include many more writers, and Tim has gone on to become a credentialed MLB reporter, producing Pirates Prospects each year, and will publish his 11th Prospect Guide this offseason. He has also served as the Pittsburgh Pirates correspondent for Baseball America since 2019. Behind the scenes, Tim is an avid music lover, and most of the money he gets paid to run this site goes to vinyl records.
Looked to me that Bubba was getting a little frustrated with a few pitches that were really close but didn’t get the call.
Thanks Anthony, for this writeup, and reminding me that even non boxscore success could have a bigger plan👍