When the Pirates selected Bubba Chandler in the third round of the amateur draft, the selling point that convinced him to forgo his scholarship to play football at Clemson was that the team would allow him to develop as both a pitcher and a hitter.
While he was primarily scouted as a pitcher, rising to No. 20 on Baseball America’s top draft prospects, he was no slouch as a shortstop either, featuring a strong arm and some raw hitting tools that would have projected him to be a day two pick if he was just a position player.
Perhaps he would have been viewed even more favorably as a hitter if he would have committed to just baseball, but between playing football and basketball, it was mostly natural.
“In high school, I won't say it's easy, but it was easy for the most part,” Chandler said during the pitching development camp at Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla. last week. “I didn't really focus on the little things that I needed to focus on. Coming here, especially this great organization, talking about pitches and everything, it helped me get there and refine some stuff.”
Some of that change is experienced by every high school prospect. Learning how to tunnel pitches, develop a routine, make the adjustment from living at home to professional ball. But the real challenge for Chandler is managing both a hitting and pitcher’s workload while still developing his raw tool sets.
The Pirates had previously explored developing a two-way player under the former regime of Neal Huntington and Clint Hurdle, but at the major-league level. The first attempt was to develop outfielder J.B. Shuck into a reliever with Class AAA Indianapolis, and they kicked around the idea of doing the same with Steven Brault at the end of the season. The idea with Brault was quickly shut down when Ben Cherington and Derek Shelton took over, and Shuck walked nearly a batter an inning with Indianapolis, keeping him in the minors.
So while this is new for the Pirates, there is at least some precedent across the sport now, albeit with some concerning results.
The most obvious example is American League MVP Shohei Ohtani of the Angels, who pitched 130 ⅓ innings while batting 639 times. Even then, Ohtani has been used almost exclusively as a pitcher or designated hitter, playing only 8 ⅓ innings in the outfield in his four innings in the majors, and is part of a six-man rotation, giving himself an extra day of rest.
There’s also Brendan McKay of the Rays. The Beaver Falls native was a pitcher/first baseman for Louisville and was selected fourth overall in 2017. The Rays tried him out as a first baseman for two years on top of his pitching duties before transitioning him to a starter and designated hitter. He would make his major-league debut in 2019 and did fine in both areas of his game considering it was his first taste of the majors. Since then, however, he has needed both left shoulder surgery and surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome. His time as a two-way player seems to be in serious jeopardy, and also potentially his major-league career.
Ohtani underwent Tommy John surgery in 2018, and there was concern that he would transition to just being a hitter after facing just 16 hitters as a pitcher from 2019-2020. The injury history of those players offers a cautionary tale for the Pirates and Chandler.
“I want to be in the infield every single game, but I have to protect my body,” Chandler said. “My right arm especially.”
There are clear benefits of having a two-way player, including that the player is officially qualified as a hitter. While the rule was waived for the 2021 season due to the shortened 2020 season, teams can carry only 13 pitchers on their 26-man roster. With the DH, less pinch-hitters will be needed, opening up more demand for pitchers.
But there is an obvious risk with it, too. And after signing for $3 million out of the draft, Chandler is one of the most important players from a vital draft class.
“The hardest thing is the workload with him,” pitching coordinator Josh Hopper said in Pirate City on how they are managing him as a pitcher. “There has to be constant communication, and the thing that I think you’re seeing is hopefully there’s more of a collaboration with medical, with strength and conditioning, with analytics, with all of them – but there’s a ton of communication going on, especially with Bubba, when it comes to our performance team. Because we go in and ask advice. Like, ‘Hey, where’s he at? How’s he recovering? What’s he look like in his lift? How did he jump this morning? What is he asking for, recovery wise? What’s his force production numbers?’ And now, when you start asking those questions, you paint a picture pretty quick of whether he’s recovering well or he’s not.”
As the season progressed, a routine developed. Chandler would spend one day a week playing shortstop and another two or three as a designated hitter. There would also be the normal throw day and day he pitches. As the season progressed, Chandler recognized he needed to ease up a bit for a full season, replacing a workout day with a recovery day of stretching, ice baths and hot tubs.
“I got on a routine that I felt really good about,” Chandler said at the Get Better at Baseball camp. “My body towards the end of the year felt better than it did at the beginning of the year.”
The shortstop day is where Chandler differs from other two-way players. A day playing the infield could be taxing on the arm by itself, and is taken into consideration.
“Throws are throws,” Hopper said. “So he may come get loose as a pitcher, and on his long-toss day, we’re going to combo that with plays in the hole because those are some of his longer throws.”
Like most of the Pirates’ draft picks, Chandler spent all of last season at their Florida complex, a more controlled environment than a minor-league season. That will change next year when he gets into a full season of pro ball.
“[I’m] ready and very excited for the ‘22 season,” Chandler said. “We have a really good plan in order… It should be fun."
