Pirates' Braxton Ashcraft Has Big Advantage Heading Into Season
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates had a poor 2025 season, but the emergence of right-handed pitcher Braxton Ashcraft has made for a promising 2026 campaign.
Ashcraft began in the bullpen for his first MLB call-up in May, but eventually got a chance to show his talents as a starter as well, culminating in an impressive first season at the highest level of baseball after years of setbacks by injury.
The 26-year old is now gearing up for a full season with the Pirates and one that could see him serve a vital role in the starting rotation.
A crucial reason for Ashcraft having an even better season in 2026 is that he's not only had MLB experience, but that he's also healthy.
Braxton Aschraft Addresses Offseason Preparation
Ashcraft is only a few days away from reporting down to Pirate City in Bradenton, Fla. for Spring Training and has been improving on his game this winter.
He spoke with the media at PiratesFest at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on Jan. 24 and was ecstatic to get down after a great offseason and start training with his teammates full-time going forward.
Ashcraft also noted that this was the first healthy offseason of his career, something that has allowed him to concentrate on what he really wants to.
"It's been really good," Ashcraft said. "Really busy. Got married. Moved around, went to a couple weddings, bought a house. So a lot of moving parts this offseason. But I got the first healthy offseason maybe in my career. It was fun to get a body of work in throughout the offseason and felt like I was productive and growing the entire offseason as opposed to just trying to get healthy again."
Ashcraft's Injury History
The Pirates took Ashcraft in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of Robinson High School in Waco, Texas.
Ashcraft would've made his MLB debut way earlier than 2025, but injuries severely limited him in recent seasons.
Ashcraft underwent a Latarjet procedure on his right shoulder in 2019, which involves a bone graft and tendon transfer, keeping him from pitching only two months with the West Virginia Black Bears in the New York-Penn League.
He suffered a torn meniscus after knee problems in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the minor league season.
Ashcraft made 10 starts with High-A Greensboro in 2021, before undergoing Tommy John surgery, ending his season in late July and keeping him out through all of 2022.
The Pirates managed Ashcraft for much of 2023 and then had a solid start to the 2024 season, before appearing in just five games following June 11.
Ashcraft now has been able to fully focus on his development, but those years working back from injury taught him how to approach an offseason and how to make the right decisions for his body for the future.
“When you go through rehabs, you don’t ever get away from that mindset," Ashcraft said. "I haven’t because to me if you’re not healthy and you’re doing everything to get healthy, why wouldn’t you continue to do those things that got you healthy.
“For me, it’s how can I take care of my body best and taking things from all different rehabs that I’ve done and applying them to my everyday routine has been really helpful. Being able to kind of lockdown, getting a consistent on the changeup and more consistent movement profile on the two-seam and being able to get my slider down into the glove. Little things like that and getting the ball consistently to where I want it to go and the movement profile is a big deal, but that’s pitching. Throw the ball where you want it to go, you’re probably going to have a little bit of success. I think we’re always working towards that, but when you’re not trying to focus on getting healthy, it’s a lot easier to work on in the offseason.
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.