Braxton Ashcraft will take the mound Tuesday night at PNC Park against the Chicago Cubs and Jordan Wicks, arriving at the start with a team-high 62 1/3 innings over 10 starts this season.
Ashcraft has been a workhorse for the Pirates, reaching at least six innings in seven outings and in each of his last four starts. He enters the game with a 3-2 record and a 2.89 ERA, numbers that have helped stabilize a rotation that leans young; four of Pittsburgh’s starters are 27 or younger.
Manager Don Kelly has praised Ashcraft’s recent outings, saying he’s been getting deeper into games and doing so efficiently. Kelly noted the right-hander has been effective at getting ahead of hitters and forcing two-strike counts, and that Ashcraft has earned the chance to work deeper by routinely winning the race to two strikes.
The immediate setup is straightforward: the Pirates won Monday’s series opener 2-1 and send Ashcraft to the hill in the second game of a four-game series. That continuity has let Ashcraft pile up work; he has already logged more than half of last season’s career-high 118 innings pitched between the major leagues and Triple-A Indianapolis.
That 118-inning total came after Ashcraft made his major league debut a year ago Monday and worked through a season that saw him used in many roles. As a rookie last year he went 4-4 with a 2.71 ERA in 26 games, including eight starts, and filled starts, late-inning spots and bulk relief as the club needed.
Even as the club leans on his durability, Pittsburgh’s front office and coaching staff say they’re watching the ledger. General manager Ben Cherington downplayed the idea that any specific innings number is sacrosanct, calling the raw total “a bit of an arbitrary number,” while the club reiterated it is not yet worried about Ashcraft’s workload but will monitor him and the rest of the young starters as the season progresses.
That tension — between the immediate value of deep, efficient starts and the long-term need to protect young arms — frames every decision the staff makes. Kelly described Ashcraft’s role last year as highly versatile, saying he filled starts, closed games and provided bulk relief, and he’s continued to show that versatility and effectiveness this season.
For now, the Pirates appear willing to let efficiency dictate usage: Ashcraft’s ability to get quick strikes and work into the sixth and seventh innings has earned him repeated opportunities. What will matter next is how the innings accumulate. How the club balances Ashcraft’s present effectiveness with deliberate monitoring will determine whether he remains a fixture in the rotation down the stretch.
