How football helped Bubba Chandler become top MLB Draft prospect

CLEMSON — Bubba Chandler was already a really good baseball player and pitching prospect before he ever reached his senior season of high school.

But once Chandler committed to Clemson to play football and baseball in May of 2020, he took his game to another level.

Chandler knew that in order to stay healthy as a Division I quarterback, he had to add weight to his frame. He stayed in the weight room throughout last summer, and the hard work paid off.

“I added a lot of weight this offseason. I really hit the weight room hard. I got my legs super strong and I guess pushing off with them has helped me a lot,” Chandler told ClemsonSports.com this spring.

“After I put a few pounds on over the summer, my fastball was jumping out of my hand. I realized that if I put on more weight I’ll throw harder. And it’s helped me with football, too.”

Bubba Chandler’s fastball was topping out at around 92 miles per hour last summer. However, with added weight this past season, Chandler was consistently throwing in the mid-90s. He reached 97-98 some and started climbing up draft boards.

“He’s gained about 30 pounds, so it was one of those things where when that strength translated to the baseball field, the fastball jumped up from about 93-94 to where it’s like 97-98,” Chandler’s high school coach Jay Lasley said. “So the big thing to me has just been strength. It’s added to his game in every other way.”

MLB.com and The Athletic both have Bubba Chandler coming off the board in the top 20 in their latest mock drafts.

However, he could opt to attend Clemson and play football and baseball there.

Wherever Chandler ends up, Lasley expects him to develop into a star down the road.

“I got a chance to see Jacob deGrom in high school, and he reminds me a lot of deGrom,” Lasley said. “DeGrom was a kid who was a really good athlete, played shortstop and pitched. I know that’s a really big comparison, but when you talk about a kid like Bubba, to me it’s a very athletic pitcher, and you don’t see that.”

Lasley also coached Vanderbilt star Kumar Rocker, who is a projected top 10 pick in this year’s draft. He says Chandler is: “leaner, better athlete, quick twitch type.”

“Power arm, good slider. He has a good change up, doesn’t get to use it a bunch at the high-school level because that changeup ends up being a hittable speed for the opponents. It’s a pitch that at the next level is going to benefit him very well,” Lasley said of Chandler. “He moves the ball around. He’s just such a good athlete up there. He can do things with his body that just allow him to go up there and compete… His endurance and his strength give him a big edge up there.”

As does his competitiveness.

Chandler wants to be on the mound when the game is on the line, or he wants to be up at the plate with a chance to win it.

“Bubba loves competing. If you’re playing cornhole, baseball, basketball, it doesn’t matter, he wants to compete,” Lasley said. “He competes in the weight room. He competes in practice. That’s one of his attributes that’s gonna make him very successful.”