Pirates' Braxton Ashcraft: Sent to minor-league camp
Rotowire
Pittsburgh optioned Ashcraft to minor-league camp Monday, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
Ashcraft, 24, allowed two unearned runs with a 3:2 K:BB over 3.2 frames this spring. The right-hander pitched well after making it back from Tommy John surgery last season, holding a 2.39 ERA and 63:11 K:BB over 52.2 innings across three levels. He'll likely open the 2024 campaign at either Double-A Altoona or Triple-A indianapolis.
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Pirates' Braxton Ashcraft: Joins 40-man roster
Rotowire
The Pirates selected Ashcraft to their 40-man roster Tuesday.
Ashcraft spent time at Single-A, High-A and Double-A last season, logging a 2.39 ERA and 1.06 WHIP with 63 strikeouts and 10 walks across 52.2 innings between the three levels. While Ashcraft's stats are certainly impressive across the board, the 24-year-old starter has yet to pitch more than 53 innings in a season.
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Pirates' Braxton Ashcraft: Strong return season
Rotowire
Ashcraft finished the year on the development list at Double-A Altoona after logging a 1.35 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 23 strikeouts in 20 innings over eight appearances for the Curve.
The 6-foot-5 righty finished the year with 52.2 innings across Single-A, High-A and Double-A before essentially getting shut down with the development-list placement Aug. 11. It was his first healthy season since undergoing Tommy John surgery in July 2021. Ashcraft will need to show he can handle a starter's workload over a full season, but he flashed a high ceiling and powerful arsenal in a successful 2023 campaign.
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Pirates' Braxton Ashcraft: Strong in High-A return
Rotowire
Ashcraft (elbow) returned from High-A Greensboro's 7-day injured list Friday and struck out six over four scoreless innings while allowing two hits and no runs in a 2-1 win over Greenville.
Ashcraft didn't pitch at all in 2022 while he continued to recover from the Tommy John surgery he underwent in July 2021, but he made two rehab starts with Single-A Bradenton before he was cleared to rejoin the High-A rotation this past week. He looked sharp in his High-A season debut and could advance quickly to Double-A Altoona if he can continue to build up his pitch count in subsequent outings while avoiding any physical setbacks.
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Pirates' Braxton Ashcraft: Undergoes Tommy John surgery
Rotowire
Ashcraft underwent Tommy John surgery last week, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Ashcraft last pitched for High-A Greensboro on July 21 and presumably suffered damage to his UCL in that outing. The procedure will end his 2021 campaign, and it will likely hold him out for most of 2022 as well. The right-hander posted a 5.35 ERA with a 41:12 K:BB across 10 starts with Greensboro this season.
