Braxton Ashcraft Proving Pirates Right
In this story:
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have a fantastic starting rotation and right-handed pitcher Braxton Ashcraft is an incredibly important part of that.
Ashcraft showed that again in his most recent start for the Pirates, throwing seven innings and 94 pitches, both career-highs, while allowing just two earned runs against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on April 22.
He would've featured as the highlight of the victory, with the Pirates up 4-2, but bullpen issues and a huge home run from center fielder Oneil Cruz completed a rally in the eventual 8-4 victory.
The Pirates are asking a great deal from Ashcraft early in 2026 and he's not only up for the challenge, he's showing he can do even better than expected as well.
Pirates Getting Great Outings From Ashcraft
Ashcraft is in his first full season as a starting pitcher at the major league level and he's done incredibly well so far.
He has a 1-1 record in five starts, a 2.43 ERA over 29.2 innings pitched, 32 strikeouts to nine walks, a .202 batting average allowed and a 1.01 WHIP.
His strikeouts rank tied for 15th in baseball, with his BAA 25th in baseball and his WHIP ranks 33rd as well, all great marks for a pitcher who is fourth in the Pirates starting rotation.
Ashcraft has issued five combined walks in his four starts in April, after walking four batters in his season debut vs. the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on March 30.
He also just gave up his first home run of the season against the Rangers, but soon settled in and got some ground balls and went the longest he has in his major league career.
It's a combination of relying on his great offspeed pitches in his arsenal in his slider and curveball and mixing that in with his higher velocity pitches in his four-seam fastball and sinker for success.
One of the best things about his start vs. the Rangers was the success he had with his slider, which he threw the most of any pitch, 29 times, got five whiffs on it and allowed just one hit.
Ashcraft said the slider felt good pre-game in his bullpen and if he can get the pitch he threw the most last season back to its true effectiveness, he could have even better outings than he already has.
“Anytime I go out and pitch, you identify what works well from very early on in the game. Just identifying that and try to lean on that. I feel like I got back to my slider has been in the past," Ashcraft said postgame.
"Obviously there’s still a little bit more to go there, being able to control the zone and get it to the zones that I want to get it to, but I mean I don’t feel like I was as crisp I as I could’ve been today, but putting the ball in the zone when I needed to, giving us a chance to make plays in the field..."
Ashcraft Taking on Heavier Workload in 2026
The Pirates aren't holding Ashcraft back from going deep into outings early in the season, surprising decision considering his lengthy injury history.
Ashcraft has thrown at least six innings three times and the least he pitched was five innings and threw a season-low 77 pitches against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on April 11.
His 29.2 innings pitched lead the Pirates and are tied for 19th-most in baseball, which the Pirates have really needed this season.
The Pirates bullpen has thrown a lot of innings and struggled at times, but having good, long outings from the starting pitchers will help them build continuity and solidity moving on.
Ashcraft started out in the bullpen when he made his MLB debut last season and his performances eventually earned him starts going into the end of 2025.
He knows what it's like as a relief pitcher to take on a lot of innings and to see your fellow teammates in the bullpen do the same, so having a strong start is a big deal for Ashcraft.
“I mean, regardless of anything, I think whenever your starter goes out there and gives you length, it really helps the bullpen in a lot of ways," Ashcraft said. "A couple extra-inning games here and there really tax guys.
"I got to experience that last year and whenever your starter goes out and gives you some length there and gives guys a little blow, it means a lot and I hold that in very high regard. Take pride in giving myself the opportunity to go deep in games and just trying to continue that for the rest of the season."
Ashcraft threw a career-high 118.0 innings combined between Triple-A Indianapolis and the Pirates in 2025, but the Pirates will hope that he can easily beat that this season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.