Pirates top-10 prospect Braxton Ashcraft makes MLB debut vs. Diamondbacks
The same day he was called up from Triple-A Indianapolis, Pittsburgh Pirates No. 7 overall prospect Braxton Ashcraft made his MLB debut Monday night in Phoenix against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Ashcraft, 25, took over for starter Andrew Heaney in the sixth inning with the Pirates behind 5-0.
He struck out the first batter he faced, Arizona’s Tim Tawa swinging.
Braxton Ashcraft's first MLB strikeout ???? pic.twitter.com/40fM4guSft
— Young Bucs (@YoungBucsPIT) May 27, 2025
Ashcraft, a starter in 69 of 71 career minor-league appearances, was 3-3 with a 5.03 ERA over 10 starts this season with the Indians at the time of his recall, striking out 56 with 19 walks in 48 1/3 innings.
Manager Don Kelly told reporters Monday that Ashcraft would initially be utilized out of the bullpen.
A 6-foot-5 righty whose fastball touched 99 mph during spring training, Ashcraft was a a second-round (No. 51 overall) draft pick by the Pirates in 2018.
Over 16 appearances split between the Indians and Double-A Altoona last year, Ashcraft went 3-2 with a 2.84 ERA.
Justin Guerriero is a TribLive reporter covering the Penguins, Pirates and college sports. A Pittsburgh native, he is a Central Catholic and University of Colorado graduate. He joined the Trib in 2022 after covering the Colorado Buffaloes for Rivals and freelancing for the Denver Post. He can be reached at jguerriero@triblive.com.
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