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Around the Curve | Without Restriction, Ashcraft Dominates Eastern League Hitters

By Jon Mozes
June 11, 2024

Drafted in the second round in 2018 out of Robinson High School in Texas, Braxton Ashcraft has always been blessed with a golden right arm. Though as a high school draftee, the Pirates were careful about building up too many innings onto his arm. After signing for a bonus of

Drafted in the second round in 2018 out of Robinson High School in Texas, Braxton Ashcraft has always been blessed with a golden right arm. Though as a high school draftee, the Pirates were careful about building up too many innings onto his arm. After signing for a bonus of $1.8 million to bypass a commitment to Baylor, Ashcraft tossed just 70.2 innings in his first two professional seasons in 2018 in the complex and in 2019 at short-season West Virginia.

Then, like many other minor leaguers, he sat out the 2020 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic and joined a star-studded rotation at High-A Greensboro to start the 2021 season. Joined by Quinn Priester, Mike Burrows, Carmen Mlodzinski in the Opening Day rotation, Ashcraft made nine starts before stepping onto the mound on July 21 at Greenville and after throwing his 59th pitch of the game, he started walking toward his dugout during an at-bat. Manager Kieran Mattison came to the mound to ask where he was going and Ashcraft replied, “my arm just broke.” An MRI confirmed a torn ulnar collateral ligament, and he underwent Tommy John surgery that wiped out the entire 2022 campaign.

Finally healthy coming out of spring training in 2023, Ashcraft was back on the mound with an innings restriction. Having never thrown more than 52 innings in a season he made 19 starts, limited to four innings or 60 pitches to get his body through an entire season without taxing his newly repaired elbow. Ashcraft showed signs of dominance, but it was easy to question it; having never seen him turn over a lineup for a second time in a game. Ashcraft arrived in Altoona in late-June of 2023 and made eight starts, allowing just three earned runs in 20.0 innings with 23 strikeouts.

As this season began, Ashcraft was finally unshackled. Added to the Pirates 40-man roster during this past off-season, Ashcraft spoke on Altoona’s Media Day about how it really helped him be in a good mindset entering the season; knowing that the organization still believed in him. And he hit the ground running. After recording a 6.91 ERA in four appearances in April, Ashcraft hit his stride in May, tossing the first complete game of his career in the first game of a doubleheader on May 2 at Harrisburg. While he allowed six runs in the defeat, Ashcraft then ripped off a run of five straight starts in which he allowed one run or fewer. From May 2 to May 19 he tossed 14.2 consecutive scoreless innings, the longest of his career. In the month of May he went 1-1 with a 1.95 ERA and ranked among the league’s best in ERA (5th, 1.95), strikeouts (T-1st, 39), in innings pitched (4th, 39.0) and WHIP (5th, 0.99). Ashcraft’s best performance in the month came in the series opener at Akron on May 14 when he struck out a career-high 10 batters in a career-long outing of 7.0 innings.

Even as the calendar flipped to June, Ashcraft has stayed consistent. On Thursday, June 6 at Richmond he put together one of the greatest pitching performances in franchise history against the Flying Squirrels. Ashcraft threw 93 pitches in his seven innings of work, with 74 going for strikes. His 12-strikeout performance came without a walk, making him the sixth pitcher in all Minor League Baseball this season to punch at least 12 batters without a free pass. Ashcraft was one shy of Tom Gorzelanny’s Curve franchise record of 13 strikeouts in a game. It was the fifth time in team history that a pitcher struck out 12+ batters in a single contest and the second time this season that Ashcraft struck out 10 batters in a game.

With the Pirates eyeing a playoff spot this season, Ashcraft is quickly putting himself on the radar as one of the team’s best minor league options.

\**This story was printed in Volume 25 Issue 5 of the Curve Chronicle for the June 11-16 homestand.**