Pirates' Braxton Ashcraft Joins Paul Skenes on Historic List
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PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed starting pitcher Braxton Ashcraft hasn't just performed well since his MLB debut last year, he's shown he could serve as a dominant arm in the rotation for years to come.
Ashcraft has a 2.18 ERA through his first 10 career starts, which is the fourth-lowest ERA of a Pirates starting pitcher in the live ball era (since 1920), according to Jim Rosati of North Shore Nine.
Cy Blanton (1934-35) has the lowest in franchise history at 1.35, Zach Duke ranks second with a 1.81 in the 2005 season and then Paul Skenes posted a 2.12 ERA in 2024 for the third-lowest ERA.
Ashcraft has only just started his career, but being amongst that group, particularly his Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Award winning teammate in Skenes, is a good sign for the future.
How Ashcraft Has Been So Dominant To Start His Career
It took Ashcraft almost seven years from when the Pirates took him in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft out of Robinson High School in Waco, Texas to make his MLB debut at 25 years old.
Ashcraft dealt with numerous injuries, the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down the 2020 season, which all stunted his development and kept setting him back from getting a full run as a starting pitcher.
He eventually would get healthier in 2024 and then made his MLB debut towards the end of May 2025, but came out of the bullpen rather than serving as a starter.
Ashcraft embraced the role and got experience against major league hitting early on, before starting seven of his final nine appearances of 2025, where he improved his workload and reached all the benchmarks the Pirates set for him.
He has pitched well in his first two starts of 2026 as well, with just three earned runs over 12 innings pitched for a 2.25 ERA and two quality starts.
Ashcraft gave up two earned runs over six innings vs. the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on March 30, taking a loss in the 2-0 defeat, and then allowed one run over six innings vs. the Baltimore Orioles at PNC Park, with a career-high eight strikeouts in the 8-2 win.
Those six-inning starts are the longest in his career and his 87 pitches in each contest are also the most in an MLB game for Ashcraft as well.
His emergence as a reliable, dominant starter is incredibly important for a Pirates team that has playoff aspirations, and gives them a great rotation with the likes of Skenes, veteran Mitch Keller, rookie Bubba Chandler and reliever-turned-starter Carmen Mlodzinski.
An Overview of Ashcraft's Pitch Mix
Ashcraft has four pitches he mainly relies on, with his four-seam fastball and sinker for his higher-velocity pitches, plus his slider and curveball as his offspeed choices.
He also threw a changeup last season and has it registered as a split-finger fastball, or more commonly known as a splitter.
Ashcraft has relied on his slider, but his curveball might be his best offspeed pitch, with a +4 run value last season, plus both a .000 batting average against (BAA) and a 44.4% whiff rate this season.
His four-seam fastball and sinker are both strong pitches, as they each go around 96-97 mph, and he's kept hitters guessing with his pitch mix overall.
Ashcraft will keep dominating batters if he uses his fastball/sinker and offspeed pitches off of each other and of course, stays healthy and consistent.
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.