The Pittsburgh Pirates came into this offseason with a clear plan: leverage their surplus of starting pitching to bolster a lineup that needed more firepower. So far, they’ve stuck to that script.
Johan Oviedo is now in Boston, Mike Burrows is headed to Houston, and in return, Pittsburgh has added three new bats to the mix. It's a calculated shift in roster construction, and it leaves the starting rotation mostly intact heading into 2026 - with perhaps one more piece to be added at the back end.
One name currently penciled into that rotation is Braxton Ashcraft. And while there are some questions surrounding his role, none of them have to do with his ability to pitch.
When Ashcraft finally got his shot in the big leagues last season, he looked every bit the part of a former second-round pick and top-100 prospect. In 26 appearances - including just eight starts - he posted a 2.71 ERA, a 1.25 WHIP, and a barrel rate that ranked in the 94th percentile league-wide.
That’s not just good. That’s elite.
Once the Pirates gave him a consistent turn in the rotation starting in August, Ashcraft kicked things into another gear. In those eight starts - seven of which came after August 8 - he put up a 2.16 ERA and held opposing hitters to a .587 OPS.
For context, only four pitchers in all of baseball topped both of those marks as starters in 2025 (minimum eight starts): Paul Skenes, Nathan Eovaldi, Trevor Rogers, and fellow rookie Nolan McLean. That’s the kind of company you want to keep.
So what’s the holdup when it comes to locking Ashcraft into a full-time rotation role? It all comes back to health.
Ashcraft’s road to the majors has been anything but smooth. Drafted in 2018, he didn’t make his MLB debut until 2025.
And that delay wasn’t due to performance - it was a string of injuries that kept derailing his progress. His first full pro season in 2019 was cut short by surgery on his non-throwing shoulder, an issue dating back to his days as a standout high school wide receiver.
Then came the pandemic in 2020, and while most players were sidelined from game action, Ashcraft suffered a torn meniscus during remote bullpen work, which required another surgery. By 2021, just 10 starts into the season, he underwent Tommy John surgery.
That kept him off a mound in live competition until 2023.
Even then, the injury bug wasn’t done with him. In 2024, Ashcraft climbed from Double-A Altoona to Triple-A Indianapolis, but right forearm tightness led to three separate stints on the injured list. He missed most of July and all of August and September, aside from a brief one-inning appearance to close out the year.
That’s why 2025 was such a big step forward. It was his first injury-free season since 2019, and the Pirates made sure to bring him along cautiously.
Across 18 starts between the majors and Triple-A, he averaged just 71 pitches per outing and logged under 4 2/3 innings per start. Even with that careful ramp-up, it was still the most innings he’s ever thrown in a single season.
That’s where the Pirates find themselves in a bit of a bind. On one hand, Ashcraft has shown he can thrive in a starting role.
On the other, his injury history makes it risky to expect him to suddenly handle a full 30-start, 150+ inning workload in 2026. A bulk relief role - two to three innings a couple times a week - could help preserve his arm and keep him effective over the long haul.
But with Oviedo and Burrows gone and Jared Jones not expected back until midseason, Pittsburgh may not have the luxury of easing Ashcraft into a hybrid role.
Even if the Pirates bring in another lefty starter - something GM Ben Cherington has shown a tendency to do - Ashcraft likely remains in the rotation, at least to start the season. He may not have the overpowering presence of Paul Skenes or Bubba Chandler, and he hasn’t yet built the durability profile of Mitch Keller, but make no mistake: Braxton Ashcraft is a key piece of this pitching staff.
How the Pirates manage his workload will be one of the more intriguing storylines to watch this season. He has the stuff to be a difference-maker. The challenge now is keeping him healthy enough to stay on the mound - and figuring out what role gives both him and the team the best chance to succeed.