Bubba Chandler, the top pitching prospect in baseball, made his MLB debut on Friday as a reliever. He made the most of the role.
The Pittsburgh Pirates flame-thrower entered the game in sixth inning against the Colorado Rockies and proceeded to mow down MLB’s worst team for the next four innings, allowing only two hits while striking out three.
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His fastball topped out at 100.4 mph in a 9-0 Pirates win, which also saw starter Braxton Ashcraft allow only one hit in five scoreless innings.
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The effort added up to a four-inning save for Chandler, which puts him in some rare company. He’s only the fourth player in the history of the save stat (which was officially recognized in 1969) to post a four-inning save in his debut and the first to do it while allowing no runs.
He’s also the first Pirate to ever post a save in his debut.
MLB Pipeline ranks Chandler as the No. 7 prospect in all of baseball and the second-best in the Pirates’ system, behind only No. 1 prospect Konnor Griffin. Fans have waited for months for him to join the MLB team, and they’ll have to wait even longer to see him join a rotation led by another former top pitching prospect, Paul Skenes.
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The Pirates view Chandler as a starter long-term, but had him debut as a reliever to make his introduction to MLB more gradual. If he finds his footing quickly, he could be starting games by the end of the season.
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