When Is Bubba Chandler Getting Called Up? Fantasy Baseball Prospect Outlook (Week 7 Update)

May 14, 2025

When is Bubba Chandler getting called up? Will Chandler get promoted in May 2025? Read about this top fantasy baseball prospect outlook heading into Week 7.

Pittsburgh Pirates top prospect Bubba Chandler began his quick ascension up the prospect ranks in 2024 after a strong season at Double-A, culminating with seven more impressive starts at Triple-A to finish out the year.

Starting the 2025 season at Triple-A, the youngster has faced little adversity through his first eight starts and continues to show that he's ready for stiffer competition.

But when will that be? He's looked ready all season, so why hasn't Pittsburgh brought him up already, and if not now, then when? Let's discuss the likeliest scenario.

Bubba Chandler Prospect Update for Fantasy Baseball

Chandler has made eight starts so far in 2025 at Triple-A Indianapolis and although he had a little hiccup last week when he allowed three earned runs on five hits and four walks in 2 2/3 innings pitched, the former third-round draft pick got back on track in his latest start, tossing five shutout innings, albeit with another three walks.

MLB's top-ranked pitching prospect Bubba Chandler tops out at 99.9 mph en route to 8 punchouts for the @indyindians.

The @Pirates hurler lowers his Triple-A ERA to 1.91 with five more scoreless frames: pic.twitter.com/NjQrEmHT96

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 14, 2025

Still, he struck out eight in that latest outing, giving him a 37.4 percent K% for the season with a 10.7 percent walk rate (26.7 percent K-BB%), and the WHIP stands at 1.00 over a total of 33 IP.

Perhaps the most important takeaway, however, was that the 6-foot-3 hurler got up to a season-high 86 pitches, which should mean he's fully stretched out and is now just waiting on the call to the majors.

Pittsburgh GM Ben Cherington indicated back in mid-April that they wouldn't build up his pitch count until May, and now that looks to have happened.

The team has more or less faded from playoff contention already, with its record at 14-29, so there is no rush to get Chandler up, as he alone won't salvage the season.

So, here we are in the middle of May, and even though all signs point to the 22-year-old being ready, the Pirates haven't called him up. Since they haven't done so, it may not happen for a while now. The reason being? Super Two.

The Super Two rule relates to MLB service time, which would prevent a player from becoming arbitration-eligible earlier than they otherwise would. At this point, the team may just wait until after that deadline, which isn't yet defined but will be sometime in June.

Bubba Chandler Outlook for Fantasy Baseball

While Chandler has been the Pirates' top prospect all season, he began the season ranked as MLB's No. 14 prospect overall; however, that changed in their latest refresh of the top 100 list.

The Georgia native moved up to No. 2 on the list, which reinforces the fact that he is major league-ready and could hit the ground running whenever he gets the opportunity.

He'll bring with him a high-90s four-seam fastball that recently even touched 101.5 mph. The repertoire is rounded out with a strong slider and changeup mix.

Bubba Chandler touched 101.5 mph yesterday 🔥🔥🔥

That’s the hardest pitch thrown by a MLB or Triple-A starting pitcher this year, equalling Hunter Greene’s velo.

(🎥 @YoungBucsPIT)

pic.twitter.com/VKhpqpt7YE

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) April 14, 2025

Even though major league hitters will undoubtedly be more of a challenge, Chandler has the stuff to be a front-of-the-rotation starter in the majors. Playing for the Pirates means he likely won't contribute much in the way of collecting wins, but he shouldn't hurt fantasy managers' team ERA and WHIP while also producing plenty of Ks.

The young fireballer is still available in almost 70 percent of Yahoo! leagues, and is one of the highest priority prospect stashes right now, especially in those leagues that have an NA roster spot. Go grab him now before it's too late!

Top Prospect Rankings and Call-Up ETAs

You can also check out the rest of RotoBaller's fantasy baseball prospect rankings. Eric Cross updates the below rankings weekly for the top impact prospects for 2025 and when they may be called up.

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