Braxton Ashcraft

Braxton Ashcraft

25-Year-Old PitcherRP
Pittsburgh Pirates
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Ashcraft is overshadowed within the Pirates' farm system by the likes of Bubba Chandler and even Thomas Harrington, but he's had a quick rise through the minors since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2022. He's delivered strikeout rates of 29.6 and 25.8 percent in the last two seasons and maintained a particularly tidy 4.0 percent walk rate across 73 innings in 2024. Zooming out a bit, Ashcraft has an untraditional pitch mix for a starter, with his slider and curveball leading his arsenal. In contrast, his fastball is less well-regarded, which could cause issues in the majors when he faces hitters that have fewer issues handling velocity. Another major concern is Ashcraft's health. He lost nearly the entire second half of 2024 with forearm injuries, making only two starts after the calendar flipped to July. Monitoring his health will be key come February when he reports to spring training, though there isn't much standing in the way of his big-league debut given that he's already on the 40-man roster. Coming from an organization well regarded for its pitching development in recent seasons, Ashcraft has the chance to be a key late draft pick or FAAB addition. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#363
ADP
Signed a one-year contract with the Pirates in March of 2025.
Dazzles in combined shutout
PPittsburgh Pirates
August 23, 2025
Ashcraft (4-2) picked up the win in Friday's 9-0 rout of the Rockies, allowing one hit and one walk over five scoreless innings. He struck out six.
Analysis
Making his third straight start, Ashcraft delivered the best performance of his young career as he combined with fellow rookie Bubba Chandler on the shutout. Ashcraft racked up 14 swinging strikes on only 65 pitches (47 total strikes) as he set a new personal best in Ks, and since moving into the rotation the 25-year-old righty has a 1.35 ERA, 0.67 WHIP and 15:2 K:BB over 13.1 innings. He'll look to keep rolling in his next outing, which is scheduled to come on the road next week in St. Louis.
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Pitching Stats
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2025 MLB Game Log
2025
2025 MLB Game Log
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Scoring
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
36
Last 10 Games
42
Last 5 Games
51
How many pitches does Braxton Ashcraft generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does Braxton Ashcraft generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
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9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2023
 
 
-15%
BAA vs LHP
2025
 
 
-15%
BAA vs LHP
2024
No Stats
2023
No Stats
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2023vs Left .211 82 19 10 15 6 0 0
Since 2023vs Right .248 111 24 4 26 6 1 1
2025vs Left .211 82 19 10 15 6 0 0
2025vs Right .248 111 24 4 26 6 1 1
2024vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2023
 
 
-27%
ERA on Road
2025
 
 
-27%
ERA on Road
2024
No Stats
2023
No Stats
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2023Home 3.13 1.57 23.0 3 1 0 9.4 5.1 0.0
Since 2023Away 2.28 0.80 23.2 1 1 0 7.2 0.4 0.4
2025Home 3.13 1.57 23.0 3 1 0 9.4 5.1 0.0
2025Away 2.28 0.80 23.2 1 1 0 7.2 0.4 0.4
2024Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Braxton Ashcraft compare to other relievers?
This section compares his stats with all relief pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 30 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 30 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
3.07
 
K/9
8.3
 
BB/9
2.7
 
HR/9
0.2
 
Fastball
96.9 mph
 
ERA
2.70
 
WHIP
1.18
 
BABIP
.311
 
GB/FB
2.09
 
Left On Base
74.6%
 
Exit Velocity
80.9 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
2.8%
 
Spin Rate
2528 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
22.3%
 
Swinging Strike
11.4%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Braxton Ashcraft See More
Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Braxton Ashcraft See More
More Fantasy News
Season-high workload Friday
PPittsburgh Pirates
August 15, 2025
Ashcraft did not factor into the decision in Friday's 3-2 win over the Cubs, allowing one run on three hits and no walks with four strikeouts over five innings.
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Drawing another start
PPittsburgh Pirates
August 14, 2025
Ashcraft is slated to start Friday's game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.
Analysis
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Strikes out five in no-decision
PPittsburgh Pirates
August 9, 2025
Ashcraft did not factor into the decision in Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Reds, allowing one run on three hits and one walk with five strikeouts over 3.1 innings.
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Starting Saturday
PPittsburgh Pirates
August 8, 2025
Pirates manager Don Kelly said that Ashcraft will start Saturday's game against the Reds, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.
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Earns win in relief
PPittsburgh Pirates
June 28, 2025
Ashcraft (2-0) was the pitcher of record in Saturday's 9-2 win over the Mets after allowing one earned run on five hits and no walks while striking out two across 2.2 innings of relief.
Analysis
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