The Pittsburgh Pirates selected right-handed pitcher Braxton Ashcraft and middle infielder Tsung-Che Chung to their 40-man roster Tuesday, protecting a pair of top-10 prospects from the Rule 5 Draft.
Baseball America has Chung as the Pirates’ No. 9 prospect and Ashcraft at No. 10 in its 2024 preseason rankings.
The 24-year-old Ashcraft is a former second-round pick who missed the 2022 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. He returned to go 0-3 with a 2.39 ERA and 1.08 WHIP in 19 starts last season across three levels, starting the season at Low-A Bradenton and ending it at Double-A Altoona. He had 63 strikeouts and 11 walks, a 5.73 strikeout-to-walk ratio that ranked 14th among pitchers who threw at least 50 innings.
Cheng, 22, batted .278 with 23 doubles, 10 triples, 13 home runs and 56 RBIs last season, split between High-A Greensboro and Altoona. He was named the Pirates’ top baserunner in 2022, had the third-most total bases (210) among the organization’s minor leaguers last year and had 26 steals.
The Pirates now have 39 players on their roster.
Players first signed at age 18 or younger must be added to 40-man rosters within five seasons — players signed at 19 years or older have to be protected within four seasons — or they become eligible for the Rule 5 Draft, where clubs have to pay $100,000 to select a player in the major league phase.
The Pirates left several top-30 prospects unprotected, most notably outfielder/first baseman Matt Gorski (No. 12) and first baseman Malcom Nunez (No. 26), as well as utility player Jase Bowen, who impressed in the Arizona Fall League.
Clubs pay $100,000 to select a player in the Major League phase of the Rule 5 Draft. If a player selected in the Rule 5 Draft doesn’t remain on the 26-man roster for the entire season, he must be offered back to his former team for $50,000. The Pirates selected left-handed reliever Jose Hernandez from the Los Angeles Dodgers last year but lost catcher-utility player Blake Sabol to the San Francisco Giants.
