Pirates' Braxton Ashcraft Emerging as Elite Starting Pitcher
· Yahoo Sports
May was indeed a very merry month for Braxton Ashcraft. The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander’s teammates are already excited about what he can do over the last four months of the season.
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Ashcraft had a 4-0 record and a 1.69 ERA in six starts in May. He allowed 33 hits and just five walks while striking out 42.
Pirates right fielder Ryan O’Hearn marvels at the approach to pitching by the 26-year-old Ashcraft, who is in his first full major-league season.
“It’s amazing,” O’Hearn said. “His pace, the tempo that he pitches with, keeps guys locked in. You don’t feel like you’re standing around too much. I can’t say enough good things about Braxton. He’s been elite this year. Really happy for him, proud of him. You see the stuff. He’s really good. Need him to keep doing what he’s doing.
“He’s coming at you. He’s pounding the strike zone. With that tempo, as a hitter, I know what that’s like when a guy’s rolling like that. It feels like you’re down 0-2 or whatever. You’re in a two-strike count almost immediately. Pretty cool to watch him go.”
Ashcraft has a 5-2 record and 2.77 ERA in 12 starts overall this season. That comes following a rookie year in which he was 4-4 with a 2.71 ERA in 26 games (eight starts). Ashcraft’s career ERA is 2.74 through 144 1/3 innings.
In his last start on Sunday against the Minnesota Twins at PNC Park, Ashcraft was particularly impressive. He gave up two runs on five hits in six innings with 11 strikeouts and no walks while needing just 80 pitches.
“I mean, that’s kind of my M.O. is just staying in the zone,” Ashcraft said. “Suffocating the zone with strikes. I put a lot of trust in (the catchers). Stick to the plan, I understand what’s going on with hitters, and it allows me to kind of turn my brain off and focus on the task at hand, that’s throwing strikes and getting guys out of the zone.”
Ashcraft became just the 11th major-league pitcher to have at least 11 strikeouts with no walks in an outing of 80 pitches or fewer. The last was the Tampa Bay Rays’ Ryan Pepiot in 2024.
Additionally, Ashcraft was the 12th pitcher in Pirates' history to have at least 11 strikeouts and no walks in an outing, and the first since Mitch Keller had 13 strikeouts against the Baltimore Orioles in 2023.
Pitch efficiency is something Ashcraft takes pride in. It has allowed him to pitch 74 2/3 innings, which is fifth in the major leagues.
One of Ashcraft’s personal goals is pitching a Maddux, an unofficial stat that signifies a complete-game shutout in fewer than 100 pitches.
“I think I leave the training room every day and say, ‘let’s have a Maddux today,” Ashcraft said. ‘I think just the idea of going at guys and being in the zone, being efficient, that is my main priority, and it would be really cool to do that one day, but the main objective is to get wins and to pitch my way into allowing our team to win the ballgame. Being efficient, going deep in games, getting guys out early, that all plays into that.”
Much has been made of Ashcraft’s innings totals because his professional single-season high is the 118 he threw last year between the major leagues and Triple-A Indianapolis. The Pirates understand they will have to throttle down Ashcraft at some point.
“I’m not privy to any of those decisions or precautions. I try to stay out of all that stuff,” Ashcraft said. “My job is to go out there and cover innings as a starting pitcher. That is my number one priority. The one thing I will say is that we have identified in the last month or so opportunities to mitigate those innings, like (by throwing just) 80 pitches. We understand there is a goal in mind, and that’s to play good ball in October. Setting ourselves to be able to do that is foremost on our minds.”
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