Bubba Chandler had the best start of his pro career on Friday night, pitching the Altoona Curve to a 5-0 victory.
Chandler pitched seven shutout innings, allowing two hits, walking one, and striking out ten. He was consistently hitting upper 90s, touching 98 with his fastball. The strikeouts were a career high, surpassing the nine strikeouts in five shutout innings on April 26th last year. This was the third time in Chandler’s career that he’s pitched seven shutout innings. He also did that on August 4th and August 22nd last year in Greensboro, allowing four hits, no walks, and striking out six each time.
Those two starts last year were during a stretch where Chandler posted a 1.66 ERA in 48.2 innings over his final nine starts. That included a five shutout inning debut in Double-A. Chandler has struggled a bit in the start of this season at the Double-A level. He has a 4.37 ERA in 47.1 innings so far this year, after Friday’s start.
Chandler has shown flashes of his upside and current skill. He hasn’t shown consistency in his results yet. Starts like this one are what make him the top prospect in the Pirates minor league system. Chandler will officially be the top prospect once Paul Skenes graduates eligibility, which will likely happen by the end of next week. From there, consistency with quality results will get Chandler up to the big leagues faster, where he will eventually join Skenes, Jared Jones, and Mitch Keller in the rotation.
TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
INDIANAPOLIS won 5-2
- RHP Luis Cessa: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
- DH Joey Bart: 2-for-3, 2B, 3 RBI, BB
- RF Joshua Palacios: 2-for-4, 2B, RBI
- C Dylan Shockley: 1-for-4, 2B, RBI
- LHP Nick Dombkowski: 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K
Joey Bart started his rehab work with Indianapolis, going 2-for-3 with a walk as the designated hitter. Luis Cessa was recently added to boost the pitching depth out of Triple-A. The 32-year-old has allowed four earned runs in eight innings across two starts since signing with the Pirates.
STATCAST HEROES
The hardest hit of the game for Indianapolis was a 105.4 MPH single from Bart. His double had a slower exit velocity of 89.6 MPH. The double from Joshua Palacios traveled 386 feet at 98.6 MPH. Cessa had six whiffs on his changeup and three on his slider, using those two pitches 49 times out of his 66 pitches in a backwards plan of attack.
DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA CURVE
ALTOONA won 5-0, led by Bubba Chandler.
- DH Yoyner Fajardo: 2-for-5
- RF Jase Bowen: 2-for-3, RBI
- 3B Jackson Glenn: 1-for-4
- 2B Kervin Pichardo: 1-for-4
- LHP Tyler Samaniego: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 0 K
Samaniego pitched the final two innings to close out the shutout. He missed time between April 13th and June 4th, but has been outstanding since his return. Samaniego has a 1.04 ERA in 8.2 innings this month across six appearances. He’s struck out six, walked three, and has given up six hits. Since being reacquired by the Pirates, Yoyner Fajardo is hitting .327/.393/.347 in Double-A.
HIGH-A: GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS
GREENSBORO won 10-3
- 2B Termarr Johnson: 2-for-5, HR, 2 RBI
- C Shawn Ross: 2-for-4, HR, 4 RBI, BB
- CF Lonnie White Jr.: 2-for-2, 3 BB, SB
- 1B Josiah Sightler: 2-for-5, 2 RBI
- RHP Derek Diamond: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 1 HR
Termarr Johnson homered for the second time in the last three games, giving him seven on the season. Shawn Ross hit his 13th homer of the season, a grand slam in the eighth inning. Lonnie White Jr. reached base all five times and stole his eighth base of the season. Mitch Jebb went 0-for-3 with two walks, but stole three bases, giving him 15 on the season.
SINGLE-A: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
BRADENTON won 8-7 in 10 innings
- 2B Keiner Delgado: 3-for-5, 2B
- DH Juan Jerez: 1-for-3, HR, BB
- SS Javier Rivas: 2-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI
- RHP Khristian Curtis: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 7 K
- LHP Inmer Lobo: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
Khristian Curtis limited his control issues this time around, and struck out seven, but gave up five runs on seven hits, which is an unfortunate result. The Marauders managed enough offense to win, led by the solo homer from Juan Jerez in the third inning, and capped off by an RBI single from Javier Rivas in the tenth. Inmer Lobo was recently promoted from the FCL, and has a 3.00 ERA in six innings of relief.
STATCAST HEROES
Curtis picked up ten whiffs on 29 swings against his four-seam fastball, which sat 95.1 MPH and touched 97.8. He also had two whiffs on eight swings against the slider. Javier Rivas had the hardest hit for Bradenton, with a 108.2 MPH double in the sixth inning.
ROOKIE: FCL PIRATES
FCL PIRATES won 5-4
- RHP Clevari Tejada: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
- RHP David Matoma: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
- C Richard Ramirez: 2-for-4, 3B
- LF Miguel Sosa: 1-for-3, 2B, RBI
- CF Eduardo Oviedo: 1-for-3, 2B, RBI
Clevari Tejada was signed last April out of the Dominican Republic. After putting up a 2.30 ERA in four starts in the DSL, he was moved up to the FCL this year. He has a 5.75 ERA in 20.1 innings, with 11 strikeouts and 11 walks. David Matoma is one of the best young arms at the level. The 18-year-old from Uganda has an 0.98 ERA in 18.1 innings, with 24 strikeouts and a 1.09 WHIP. He’s worked exclusively as a reliever this year, with a max of two innings.
ROOKIE: DSL PIRATES BLACK
DSL PIRATES BLACK were OFF
ROOKIE: DSL PIRATES GOLD
DSL PIRATES GOLD lost 7-5
- 3B Antonio Pimentel: 3-for-4, 2 RBI, SB
- C-1B Angel Perez: 2-for-3, BB
- SS Adbiel Feliz: 1-for-3
Pimentel and Perez were both part of last year’s signing class. Pimentel has improved from a .544 OPS last year to a .746 OPS this year. Perez had a good season last year, with five homers and a 1.030 OPS.
SATURDAY’S SCHEDULE
- Triple-A: Indianapolis, 7:05 PM – TBD
- Double-A: Altoona, 6:35 PM – RHP Thomas Harrington (0-1, 3.13)
- High-A: Greensboro, 6:30 PM – TBD
- Single-A: Bradenton, 6:30 PM – LHP Connor Oliver (0-2, 4.64)
- Rookie: FCL Pirates, 10:00 AM – TBD
- Rookie: DSL Pirates Black, 10:00 AM – TBD
- Rookie: DSL Pirates Gold, 10:00 AM – TBD
