One Year After Debut, Braxton Ashcraft Emerging as One of MLB’s Top Starters

PITTSBURGH – Braxton Ashcraft made his debut for the Pittsburgh Pirates last season on May 26 against the Diamondbacks in Arizona.

On the one year anniversary of his first big-league appearance, Ashcraft again took the mound for the Pirates, only this time under much different circumstances. 

Last year, Ashcraft debuted out of the bullpen and threw three-scoreless innings in a 5-0 loss for the Pirates, which sunk their season record to 19-36.

Fast forward a year and Ashcraft not only toed the rubber as one of the game’s top starting pitchers, but he did so for a team that sits three games over .500 and only four games behind the first-place Milwaukee Brewers.

“It’s nice, looking back on it now and the work I’ve been able to put in, the sample size, the success that I’ve had, it’s not just me,” Ashcraft explained. “It’s the guys behind the plate, the guys on the field, the staff that we have here, make it really easy to have success.”

In Tuesday night’s game at PNC Park, Ashcraft held the Cubs to one run across 6.1 innings in a 12-1 Pirates win. The right-hander has worked into at least the seventh inning in five straight starts and six of his last seven.

“Really good stuff,” manager Don Kelly said of Ashcraft’s performance. “Got ahead. Really efficient pitch-count wise. Threw the ball extremely well. Velo was really good. It was up a little bit, it seemed today. The slider, curveball, he had it working.” 

After another strong start, Ashcraft leads the Pirates and ranks eighth in the National League with a 2.75 ERA. The 26-year-old is also one of seven pitchers in the league to reach 70 strikeouts.

In a rotation that features reigning Cy Young winner Paul Skenes, Ashcraft has been the star at the two-month mark of the season.

“All the starts that he’s had, he’s executed his stuff extremely well,” said Kelly. 

Nothing seems to rattle Ashcraft. He’s had two outings this season in which he allowed more than two runs. He gave up six runs in 4.1 innings against the Cardinals on April 28, which was followed by a 7.2-shutout inning performance against the Reds in his next start. He was charged with four runs in 6.2 innings against the Phillies on May 15 but bounced back to deliver seven innings of one-run ball against the Cardinals on May 21.

The few times that teams have had scoring chances against him, he’s thrived. Opponents are hitting .087 (4 for 46) with runners in scoring position against him, including a 1-for-8 showing by the Cubs on Tuesday night.

“I think he’s got the ability to make really good pitches in those moments to get the ground ball that he needs and to get the punchouts, too,” said Kelly. 

Ashcraft credits his time spent in the bullpen last year as part of the reason for his success with runners in scoring position.

“When I came up as a reliever, you got to punch guys out and I think in a lot of ways that’s helped me get out of jams that I put myself in,” he explained.

Ashcraft is one of the reasons the Pirates are off to their best 55-game start since 2018, when they also went 29-26 to begin the year. After Tuesday’s win, Pittsburgh is now 7-4 when Ashcraft has been on the mound this season. 

It’s been a memorable first calendar year as a big-leaguer for Ashcraft. A lot has changed, but his performance has remained steadily strong throughout, and he’s eager to build on what he’s done.

 “It’s cool to look back and be thankful for it, but still looking forward to the rest of the year,” said Ashcraft.

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