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Position Preview: Multiple Pirates’ Top Prospects Projected to Fill Indy’s Rotation

MLB’s No. 7 overall prospect Bubba Chandler headlines a group of four pitchers who each rank in the Pirates’ Top 30 Prospects for 2025
By Mark Reed
March 18, 2025

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Indians return to the Circle City to kick off the 2025 season at Victory Field on April 1. Indy’s projected starting rotation looks to feature multiple prospects who rank highly in the Pirates’ system and have a serious chance to crack Pittsburgh’s rotation later this season

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indianapolis Indians return to the Circle City to kick off the 2025 season at Victory Field on April 1. Indy’s projected starting rotation looks to feature multiple prospects who rank highly in the Pirates’ system and have a serious chance to crack Pittsburgh’s rotation later this season and beyond. Below, we cover what to look forward to on the mound at Victory Field in 2025.

Bubba Chandler: Chandler enters the season ranked as the Pirates’ No. 1 prospect and the No. 7 prospect in Minor League Baseball according to Baseball America. The 22-year-old righty was drafted by the Pirates in the third round of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft out of Clemson (South Carolina) University as a two-way player but has appeared solely as a pitcher since the beginning of the 2023 season. Chandler split the 2024 season between Double-A Altoona and Indianapolis, setting career highs in appearances (26), innings pitched (119.2) and strikeouts (148) while logging a 3.08 ERA (41er) and a .189 batting average against across both levels. He also led all Pirates farmhands in strikeouts and wins (10). The Georgia native made seven starts with Indianapolis to conclude the season, going 4-0 while leading all qualifying Triple-A pitchers from his debut on Aug. 9 through the end of the season with a 1.83 ERA (8er/39.1ip) and 54 strikeouts.

Mike Burrows: Burrows, 25, missed most of the 2023 season and the first half of 2024 while recovering from Tommy John surgery. Upon returning in 2024, he made six rehab appearances between the FCL Pirates and Low-A Bradenton before being activated by Indianapolis on July 25. The Pirates’ No. 14 prospect made 10 appearances (nine starts) with the Indians, going 1-1 with a 4.06 ERA (17er/37.2ip) and 45 strikeouts. Burrows made his major league debut on Sept. 28 at New York (AL) and picked up his first big league win in 3.1 innings of work out of the bullpen with two hits, two runs (one earned), three walks and two strikeouts.

Braxton Ashcraft: Ashcraft, 25, split the 2024 season between Double-A Altoona and Indianapolis, going 3-2 with a 2.84 ERA (23er/73.0ip), a career-high 77 strikeouts and a 1.07 WHIP in 16 appearances (14 starts) between both levels. The Pirates’ second-round pick in the 2018 First-Year Player Draft was promoted to Indianapolis for the remainder of the season on June 11. Ashcraft battled through three separate stints on the injured list while making five appearances (four starts) with the Indians, going 1-0 with a 0.47 ERA (1er/19.1ip), 14 strikeouts and a 0.98 WHIP. He did not allow more than one run in 10 of 11 appearances (10 starts) from May 8 through the end of the season, recording a 1.37 ERA (8er/52.2ip) which ranked second among Double-A and Triple-A pitchers (min. 50.0ip) in that span. According to Baseball America, Ashcraft is Pittsburgh’s No. 4 prospect entering 2025 and has the best curveball and slider in the Pirates system.

Anthony Solometo: Solometo, the sole southpaw in the Indians’ projected rotation, spent most of the 2024 season with Double-A Altoona, pitching to a 1-7 record and a 5.98 ERA (39er/58.2ip) with 46 strikeouts in 20 appearances (17 starts) with the Curve. The 22-year-old, who was selected by the Pirates in the second round of the 2021 First-Year Player Draft, is ranked as the organization’s No. 15 prospect entering 2025. Solometo was ranked as the organization’s No. 4 prospect entering the 2024 season after he pitched to a 3.26 ERA (40er/110.1ip) and 118 strikeouts in 24 starts between High-A Greensboro and Double-A Altoona in 2023 to earn a spot on the All-MiLB Prospect Second Team and be named an MiLB.com Organization All-Star for the second season in a row.