The Pittsburgh Pirates have prided themselves on being “new school” since Neal Huntington replaced Dave Littlefield as general manager in 2007.
The Pirates were at the forefront of sabermetrics and technology when they made three straight appearances in the National Wild Card Game from 2013-15. A significant portion of the Pirates’ success stemmed from their use of infield shifts and pitchers inducing groundballs.
However, other teams started passing the Pirates by in the new school thinking. Thus, the Pirates have had one winning season since those runs to the postseasons.
GM Ben Cherington, who replaced Huntington at the end of the 2019 season, relies heavily on analytics in making transactions and other roster decisions. The approach isn’t working.
With that in mind, it is refreshing that the Pirates have leaned toward old school in at least one way. The Pirates are trying to develop starting pitchers the way teams often did up until the early 1990s.
The Pirates are bringing potential starters up from the minor leagues and using them as bulk relievers, a modern term for long relievers. Then those pitchers are eventually moved into the rotation if they prove to be worthy.
The Pirates have done this with Braxton Ashcraft this season, and the results have been outstanding. He has a 1-0 record and 1.10 ERA in his four starts.
Bubba Chandler made his MLB debut on Friday night and was outstanding after being called up from Triple-A Indianapolis earlier in the day. He followed Ashcraft by pitching four scoreless innings and got the save in the Pirates’ 9-0 rout of the Colorado Rockies at PNC Park.
Manager Don Kelly explained the Pirates’ philosophy of handling Ashcraft and Chandler in a way that runs counter to how most teams develop starting pitching prospects.
“I think it’s more of an onramp for them,” Kelly said. “They’re not going to be going out there for five innings. Two innings, let it eat and see what you got, turn it loose. You’re not trying to pace yourself to get through four, five, six innings and go longer. Ultimately, (starting) would be the goal, but giving them a shorter stint to get their feet wet and allow their stuff to play.”
Ashcraft was a little disappointed to learn he would be used in relief when he arrived from Indianapolis on May 26. The 25-year-old now believes it was an outstanding decision.
“For me, I think it made me a better pitcher, and will continue to make me a better pitcher because it’s different,” Ashcraft said. “You grow up doing one thing your entire life, and the game kind of falls into some sort of, like, just monotony. And having something like that where you come in, you’re forced to be in a different role, something that’s unfamiliar, you respond one of two ways — you compete your tail off or you don’t.”
Belying his soft-spoken nature, Ashcraft has proven to be an outstanding competitor. Chandler showed the same fire in his debut, though it was against the worst team in the major leagues.
It’s nice to see the Pirates do something different. It is especially heartening that they are trying an old-fashioned approach.
No one can stop progress, nor should they. However, old school isn’t always the wrong school, even in 2025, as Ashcraft and Chandler are proving.