Brewers set to face Pittsburgh's Bubba Chandler in matchup of future aces

The National League Central is overflowing with young starting pitching talent.

The Milwaukee Brewers have tapped into their troves of prospect starters this season, with rookies Chad Patrick, Logan Henderson, and Jacob Misiorowski combining for 36 MLB starts this year. Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Reds have one of the most intriguing young rotations in all of baseball, with a three-headed monster of Hunter Greene, Andrew Abbott, and Nick Lodolo leading the charge. Flame-throwing rookie Chase Burns also made his debut this season and figures to factor into the Reds' future rotation plans.

Then there's the Chicago Cubs, whose rookie right-hander Cade Horton is likely to be a finalist for the NL Rookie of the Year Award. The St. Louis Cardinals have a few exciting arms in Quinn Matthews and Tink Hence knocking on the door of the big leagues, and 25-year-old southpaw Matthew Liberatore is enjoying the best season of his career.

However, perhaps sitting in the best position in regard to future rotation talent are the last-place Pittsburgh Pirates, who have occupied the bottom spot in the NL Central in five of the last six seasons. Already with the 2024 NL Cy Young Award winner, Paul Skenes, at the top of their rotation, the Pirates have a slew of young talent set to be a part of their starting staff in the near future. Jared Jones, the Pirates' 2024 breakout starter who underwent elbow surgery in March, missed the entire 2025 season, but is expected back for the 2026 campaign. Rookie Braxton Ashcraft holds a 2.44 ERA in his first 55.1 big league innings, splitting time between the starting rotation and the bullpen. Then there's top prospect Thomas Harrington, who is having a difficult season between Triple-A and a brief stint in the majors, but his track record suggests he will be an effective big leaguer at some point.

That said, outside of Skenes, the most exciting young pitcher on Pittsburgh's roster, who is currently the No. 7 ranked prospect in all of baseball, is right-handed flame thrower Bubba Chandler. Despite being called up to the majors on August 22, Chandler will make his first big league start against the Brew Crew this afternoon, as the Pirates elected to ease him into the majors with a role in their bullpen. He will oppose Jacob Misiorowski in today's series finale, in what will be a preview of the future of starting pitching in the NL Central.

Jacob Misiorowski to face off against Pittsburgh's top prospect, Bubba Chandler, in today's series finale

Many expected Chandler to be a large part of the Pirates' 2025 season, but in typical Pittsburgh fashion, the team elected to wait until there were less than 45 days remaining in the regular season to call up their top prospect, as doing so allows Chandler to maintain his rookie status in 2026, which could lead to the Pirates gaining an extra draft pick if he finishes in the top three in Rookie of the Year voting next season. The Prospect Promotion Incentive pick, as it's known, was meant to incentivize teams to promote their top prospects early in the season, but in this scenario, it's had the opposite effect.

Regardless of draft picks and service time manipulation, Chandler is more than ready for the big leagues, and his performance out of the bullpen thus far is proof enough. He's made three four-inning relief appearances in the last two weeks and allowed just three total earned runs — all to the defending world champion Los Angeles Dodgers. He holds a 2.25 ERA with nine strikeouts and just one walk through his first 12 major league innings.

Bearing a striking resemblance to his now-teammate Paul Skenes, Chandler also possesses the same unique velocity that the Pirates' ace does. While he may not have a "splinker" or an elite repertoire of seven pitches like Skenes, Chandler averages 0.6 mph more on his fastball (98.7 mph) than Skenes does. For reference, The Miz averages 99.3 mph on his four-seamer, so the elite velocity that Brewers fans see every time their rookie phenom takes the mound is also present in Pittsburgh's new electric starting pitcher duo.

Drafted in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of North Oconee High School in Bogart, GA, Chandler has shown an elite ability to miss bats at the minor league level, frequently striking out opposing hitters at a rate of 30% or higher.

Today's matinee will no doubt feature some of the most impressive velocity in all of MLB, pitting two top prospects against each other in what is bound to be a recurring matchup for several years to come. The Miz out-dueled Skenes back on June 25, and now he looks to grab a win against Pittsburgh's next great starting pitcher. First pitch is set for 12:35 p.m. CT.