MLB analyst puts the pressure on Pirates' Bubba Chandler to turn the corner

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MLB analyst puts the pressure on Pirates' Bubba Chandler to turn the corner originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

You can't talk about the Pittsburgh Pirates long before getting into just how dominant their starting rotation is. Behind Paul Skenes, this staff has been one of the best this season, but it's not just because of Skenes.

They have a few other pitchers who have stepped up tremendously this season. This includes Braxton Ashcraft and Mitch Keller, who both own a sub-3.00 ERA.

The pitching staff has been a big reason why the Pirates are in the thick of things in the NL Central. They sit in fourth place, but are only five games behind the Chicago Cubs and are 1.5 games out of second place.

MORE: Pirates' young core led by Paul Skenes and Konnor Griffin receives surprisingly low ranking

MLB analyst puts pressure on Pirates' Bubba Chandler to turn the corner​

One pitcher who had a ton of hype before the season began was Bubba Chandler. He was selected in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft right out of high school.

He was a two-way player before shifting his focus to pitching, and made his MLB debut late last year, flashing just how good he can be. However, he is struggling this season with a 1-4 record and a 4.62 ERA on 39 innings of work.

If Chandler can get it going this year, Pittsburgh may have the best rotation in all of baseball. But with one struggling a bit, Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller tags the Pirates as the third-best rotation across MLB.

"Paul Skenes has allowed six earned runs in 41.1 innings of work to slash his ERA back down to 2.36. But Braxton Ashcraft and Mitch Keller are right there with Skenes in the sub-3.00 club, that trio accounting for 15 of the team's 17 quality strats. If they could just get Bubba Chandler to start living up to his prospect rankings hype, maybe they could catch back up to the Cubs atop the NL Central standings."

He needs to work on his control a bit, having twice given up six walks in a start. On top of that, his mental game is not the best. And while he is still young, it is something that he will need to learn to control if he wants to pitch at his best.

More MLB news:​

• Thriving young arms power the Brewers' rotation despite minimal innings
• Davis Martin emerges as a lone bright spot for the White Sox rotation
• Michael King and Randy Vasquez carry a Padres' pitching staff struggling with depth
• Athletics continue to roll despite constant pitching struggles in Sacramento
• Shea Langeliers powers the Athletics to a top ten spot in latest power rankings

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