Pirates Have Most Underrated Starting Pitcher in MLB
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates may have one of the best pitchers in baseball in Paul Skenes, but another starter is making his claim in the game.
Pirates right-handed starting pitcher Braxton Ashcraft was dominant once again in his most recent outing vs. the Athletics in the series finale at Sutter Health Park on June 17.
Ashcraft didn’t give up a hit until the fourth inning and had only issued two walks before the sixth inning, as the Athletics hitters had little success against him.
He took advantage of the Pirates offense coming through early on in the 12-4 victory, but Ashcraft showed that this great season he’s having isn’t stopping any time soon.
What Worked vs. the Athletics
Ashcraft showed against the Athletics that he can do what the best pitchers do, get ahead in counts and attack hitters right from the start.
He threw 60% first pitch strikes (15/25) and used an eclectic pitch mix to keep hitters guessing, working with his curveball and slider for the offspeed and then both the four-seam fastball and sinker for his higher velocity pitches.
Pitch | Usage | Average Velocity |
|---|---|---|
Curveball | 26/93 (28%) | 84.1 mph |
Four-Seam Fastball | 25/93 (27%) | 97.3 mph |
Sinker | 23/93 (25%) | 97.2 mph |
Slider | 18/93 (19%) | 92.1 mph |
Splitter | 1/93 (1%) | 92.3 mph |
His curveball saw great success, with five whiffs on 11 swings (45% whiff rate) and four of his seven strikeouts on the day.
Ashcraft did run into some trouble in the sixth inning, giving up three hits a walk and two runs, with one unearned due to an error from Pirates shortstop Jared Triolo.
He could've let things spiral out of control with just one out and two runners on, but he struck out both third baseman Zack Gelof and right fielder Lawrence Butler, using the curveball on both occassions.
Ashcraft credited his success to sticking with the game plan and mixing up what he threw, which yielded the results he wanted.
“Yeah I mean, aside from a couple four pitch walks. Yeah I felt like we did a really good job of leaning on the stuff that was playing really well and not straying away from stuff whenever it was ball one, ball two, 3-2," Ashcraft said postgame.
"Just keeping the foot on the gas whenever we were in disadvantage counts and hitter counts or vice versa. Just leaning on the strengths and letting guys behind me do the work.”
Ashcraft Amongst Most Dominant MLB Pitchers
It's been a great season for Ashcraft, who is just in his first full campaign as a Pirates starting pitcher, but proving he's one of the best right now.
Ashcraft has a 6-3 record in 15 starts, a 3.18 ERA over 90.2 innings pitched, 97 strikeouts to 22 walks, a .233 batting average allowed (BAA) and a 1.10 WHIP. He also has 9.63 K/9, a 2.18 BB/9 and a 7.74 K/BB this season.
Braxton Ashcraft 2026 NL/MLB Rankings
Stat (Total) | NL/MLB Ranking |
|---|---|
Innings Pitched (90.2) | 3rd/5th |
Strikeouts (97) | Tied-4th/Tied-7th |
K/BB (4.41) | 7th/15th |
BB/9 (2.18) | 8th/19th |
K/9 (9.63) | 10th/17th |
WHIP (1.11) | 11th/21st |
ERA (3.18) | 13th/21st |
BAA (.233) | 17th/Tied-31st |
Ashcraft's goal is to go six innings at a minimum and he did that vs. the Athletics, bit it's something he's done consistently all season.
He has thrown six innings in 10 starts and posted nine quality starts (six innings, no more than three earned runs), tied for seventh-most in MLB this season.
Maybe even more impressive for Ashcraft is that his 2.98 ERA since he debuted is the fourth-lowest amongst pitchers that have thrown 160 innings.
Those three other pitchers include Yoshinobu Yamamoto (2.68) of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Skenes (2.19) and Cristopher Sánchez (2.04) of the Philadelphia Phillies.
Ashcraft hasn't earned the plaudits he deserves yet, but he's on the verge of earning his first All-Star nod and playing a big role in the Pirates ending their decade-long postseason drought.
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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.