The Pirates have called right-handed pitching prospect Braxton Ashcraft up to the majors and sent right-hander Isaac Mattson to Triple-A, manager Don Kelly told reporters (including MLB.com’s Alex Stumpf). No further transaction was required since Ashcraft has been on the Bucs’ 40-man roster since November 2023. Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported yesterday that Ashcraft would be traveling with the Pirates on their current road trip to Arizona, though it wasn’t clear if Ashcraft would be officially activated or if he would just be part of the team’s taxi squad.
As it turns out, Ashcraft will indeed get his first taste of Major League action, and he’ll also be operating in a new role. Ashcraft has started 69 of his 71 career games in the minors, but Kelly said that Ashcraft will for now work as a long reliever or bulk pitcher on Pittsburgh’s staff. This would seem to indicate that Mike Burrows will remain as the Pirates’ fifth starter behind the stable top four of Paul Skenes, Mitch Keller, Andrew Heaney, and Bailey Falter. Burrows was only just called up within the last week to replace Carmen Mlodzinski, who struggled over nine starts.
Pittsburgh fans may continue to raise eyebrows over the fact that Bubba Chandler has yet to be recalled for his MLB debut, as the Bucs have thus far turned to Burrows (whose lone career big league game came in 2024), plus two other pitchers (Tom Harrington and now Ashcraft) who hadn’t yet appeared in the Show. While Chandler is one of the sport’s best overall prospects, the pitching-rich Pirates seem more willing for now to give looks to some of their other well-regarded young arms.
More to come…