There is some concern that the Pirates are manipulating service time by not calling up Bubba Chandler.

The Pirates have no-namer Mike Burrows in the #5 rotation spot, yet Chandler, who is pitching very well in AAA, isn't being called up.

This is despite the fact that other prospects like Thomas Harrington, Burrows and Braxton Ashcraft got called up already. Some feel that Chandler is another Skenes, and therefore the frugal Pirates want to squeeze another year of service out of the 22-year-old.

Skenes was called up on May 11 last year. Chandler was expected to see a similar callup date, but we are at May 31 and he's not here.

It's possible that the Pirates know they're going nowhere this year, so they'd rather Chandler spend the maximum time in the minors -- at least to the point where they can hold down his service time to their desire. The current excuse is that he needs to work on his control, as he has walked 21 batters in 48 2/3 innings. It's worth noting that he's also struck out a staggering 69 in that same time.

The Pirates don't really have much in the way of top hitting prospects, so it's questionable when they will contend, even if Chandler works out as well as Skenes.