Braxton Ashcraft

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Pittsburgh Pirates #4 prospect in 2025
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/High.
  
  Track Record: The Pirates drafted Ashcraft No. 51 overall in 2018 and signed the Texas native for $1.825 million. Injuries and the lost 2020 season due to the pandemic have slowed his ascent to Pittsburgh. Ashcraft injured his non-throwing shoulder in 2019, had knee surgery in 2020 and missed all of 2022 recovering from Tommy John surgery. He re-asserted himself as one of Pittsburgh’s most impressive pitching prospects upon returning and performed in 2024, though he was limited to 73 innings in the upper minors while dealing with a recurring forearm injury.
  
  Scouting Report: The 6-foot-5 Ashcraft cuts an imposing, athletic figure on the mound and attacks hitters as such. His arsenal is fronted by a mid-90s fastball that touched 98 mph and landed for strikes roughly 68% of the time. Ashcraft throws a pair of potentially plus breaking pitches: a tight, powerful upper-80s slider that he threw with more consistent break in 2024, and a low-80s curveball. Hitters whiffed on both more than 40% of the time. He can also dial up the velocity on the slider to make it more closely resemble a cutter. Evaluators were encouraged by the shape and performance of his 89-91 mph changeup, but Ashcraft rarely throws it and would benefit from another offering he can throw to his arm side. The lack of a changeup coupled with Ashcraft’s durability concerns—he has yet to throw more than 75 innings in a season—invites questions about whether Ashcraft will stick as a starter.
  
  The Future: Ashcraft is another option for the Pirates who is closing in on the majors and has midrotation upside. He’s expected to be healthy for spring training and has a fallback option as an intriguing late-inning power arm given his health and a potentially crowded Pittsburgh rotation in the not-too-distant future.
  
  Scouting Grades Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 60 | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 60
• 
  Ranked Pittsburgh Pirates #10 prospect in 2024
  BA Grade: 50/High
  
  Track Record: In high school, Ashcraft’s big frame and athleticism made him an outstanding enough wide receiver to catch 37 touchdowns in his junior season. He focused on the diamond exclusively in his senior year and showed well both on the mound and in the batter’s box. The Pirates drafted him in the second round in 2018 and signed him for $1.825 million. Since then, his career has been waylaid a bit, first by the pandemic and then by Tommy John surgery which limited his 2021 season to 38.2 innings and erased his 2022 season entirely. He got back on the hill in 2023 and impressed at High-A and Double-A while dealing with a carefully managed workload.
  
  Scouting Report: In his return to the mound, Ashcraft impressed by mixing power stuff with superb control. He starts his repertoire with a four-seam fastball that sat at 95 mph and showed impressive life through the zone. The fastball was backed with a slider, a curveball and an occasional cutter. Part of Ashcraft’s development will involve making sure he varies the shapes on the cutter and slider to make them distinct offerings. Scouts peg his slider, which sat around 87 mph, as a potentially plus pitch, and rated his low-80s curveball as a future above-average offering. His cutter sat around the same velocity as his slider but was thrown just 5% of the time. Ashcraft has thrown a changeup but mostly shelved it in 2023 in order to focus on other areas of development. He ties his mix together with outstanding control that allowed him to throw strikes at a rate of 70% across all three of his stops.
  
  The Future: The Pirates will have to continue to carefully manage Ashcraft’s workload in 2024, but what they saw in 2023 adds yet another interesting pitching prospect to their system. He should reach Triple-A and has an outside chance of making his MLB debut at some point in the second half.
  
  Scouting Grades Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 55 | Slider: 60 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 60
• 
  Ranked Pittsburgh Pirates #22 prospect in 2021
  TRACK RECORD: The Pirates made Ashcraft their second-round pick in 2018 and signed him for $1.825 million to forgo his commitment to Baylor. He was a two-sport star in high school, also excelling at wide receiver, and had surgery on his non-throwing shoulder after the 2019 season to clean up an old football injury. He returned to the field for instructional league in 2020 and looked noticeably better, with his fastball ticking up 2-3 mph and much more polish all-around.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Ashcraft has the classic projectable pitcher's frame with room to continue filling out. His improved fastball now ranges from 93-96 mph and sits 94. The pitch generates a high volume of ground balls with its natural sink. Ashcraft has improved his changeup to a pitch that can at least be an average offering. He also improved his slider to get a sharper break on the pitch and it now flashes above-average. Ashcraft has solid control and the Pirates believe his surgery will help iron out some of the command issues he's had so far.
  
  THE FUTURE: Ashcraft should start at one of the Class A levels in 2021. He projects as a back-of-therotation starter but could be more if he continues to fill out and add velocity.
• 
  Ranked Pittsburgh Pirates #12 prospect in 2020
  TRACK RECORD: The Pirates signed Ashcraft for $1.825 million in 2018 to break his commitment to Baylor. It was the third-highest bonus in franchise history for a player drafted after the first round. The young righty struggled to a 5.77 ERA with short-season West Virginia in 2019, but he handled himself well in a college-heavy league.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Ashcraft is a tall, projectable righthander with loads of athleticism. He was a star wide receiver in high school and touched 95 mph on the mound his senior year. His velocity dipped into the upper 80s after he signed, but he jumped back into the low-to-mid-90s at West Virginia. He has the loose, projectable frame to project to grow into even more velocity. Ashcraft's upper-70s slider is a slurvy offering that has a long way to go, but he shows feel to spin and could make it an average offering as he adds power and shape. He has feel for an average, low-80s changeup. Like many tall pitchers, the 6-foot-5 Ashcraft has struggled with his control at times. His athleticism provides optimism he will grow into average control.
  
  THE FUTURE: Ashcraft offers a lot to dream on, but his growth will take time. Low Class A Greensboro is next in 2020.
• 
  Ranked Pittsburgh Pirates #14 prospect in 2019
  Track Record: Ashcraft's long levers and athleticism made him a star wide receiver in football-mad Texas, and he caught 37 touchdown passes as a high school junior. He focused on baseball as a senior, though, and struck out 103 batters in 70.1 innings while also hitting .391. He had a scholarship offer to Baylor, his hometown school, but the Pirates lured him away with a $1.825 million bonus. He was a late sign and made just five starts in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League.
  
  Scouting Report: The Pirates are fans of tall, athletic righthanders who can pitch with downhill angle--and Ashcraft fits that bill. His fastball sat in the 80s for much of the spring, but he let loose more in the summer and topped out at 94, sitting around 92 with some arm-side run. He also has an off-speed slider with some drop to it and feel for a change-up that sits in the low-80s.
  
  The Future: Ashcraft will almost certainly begin in extended spring training and begin 2019 at either the Rookie-level Bristol or short-season West Virginia. His progress may take some time, but he could develop into a rotation staple.

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #58 prospect in 2018 draft
  An immensely athletic pitcher, Ashcraft also plays football at Robinson (Texas) High as a wide receiver and had a record-setting junior campaign, where he caught 204 passes for 2,090 yards and 37 touchdowns--including a seven-touchdown game in Robinson's season opener. His athleticism translates to the mound as well, where Ashcraft throws from a three-quarter slot with a loose arm, feel to spin a breaking ball and physical upside. Ashcraft didn''t have eye-opening velocity during the showcase circuit, and scouts have said his velocity has been up and down this spring, but he has shown the ability to spot the pitch to both sides with cutting and running action. Widely seen as a pro pitching prospect, some scouts have wondered what Ashcraft would look like with a bat in his hands, as he's shown impressive power and can glide around the baseball field as a runner. Still, the upside he has on the mound is too much to ignore, and if he takes a jump with his stuff at some point--and he has the arm speed, athleticism and frame to do so--he could be a steal in the draft. He is expected to be a tough sign as a Baylor commit.

Minor League Top Prospects

• 
  Ranked Florida Complex League #15 prospect in 2018
  Ashcraft was a star wide receiver for the Robinson (Texas) High football team, catching seven touchdowns in one game during his junior season, finishing that year with 204 catches for 2,090 yards and 37 touchdowns. Ashcraft dropped football his senior season to focus on baseball and went 51st overall in the draft to the Pirates, signing for $1.825 million. Ashcraft's outstanding athleticism translates to the mound, where he has an ease of operation to his throwing motion. He generates downhill plane from his 6-foot-5 frame with quick arm speed and minimal effort, popping 89-94 mph with good extension, life and the projection for more velocity to come when he gets stronger. Ashcraft has a loose arm and has shown some feel for his secondary stuff, with a solid breaking ball that's more advanced than his changeup.

• March, 2021 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: The Pirates made Ashcraft their second-round pick in 2018 and signed him for $1.825 million to forgo his commitment to Baylor. He was a two-sport star in high school, also excelling at wide receiver, and had surgery on his non-throwing shoulder after the 2019 season to clean up an old football injury. He returned to the field for instructional league in 2020 and looked noticeably better, with his fastball ticking up 2-3 mph and much more polish all-around.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Ashcraft has the classic projectable pitcher's frame with room to continue filling out. His improved fastball now ranges from 93-96 mph and sits 94. The pitch generates a high volume of ground balls with its natural sink. Ashcraft has improved his changeup to a pitch that can at least be an average offering. He also improved his slider to get a sharper break on the pitch and it now flashes above-average. Ashcraft has solid control and the Pirates believe his surgery will help iron out some of the command issues he's had so far.
  
  THE FUTURE: Ashcraft should start at one of the Class A levels in 2021. He projects as a back-of-therotation starter but could be more if he continues to fill out and add velocity.
• December, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: The Pirates made Ashcraft their second-round pick in 2018 and signed him for $1.825 million to forgo his commitment to Baylor. He was a two-sport star in high school, also excelling at wide receiver, and had surgery on his non-throwing shoulder after the 2019 season to clean up an old football injury. He returned to the field for instructional league in 2020 and looked noticeably better, with his fastball ticking up 2-3 mph and much more polish all-around.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Ashcraft has the classic projectable pitcher's frame with room to continue filling out. His improved fastball now ranges from 93-96 mph and sits 94. The pitch generates a high volume of ground balls with its natural sink. Ashcraft has improved his changeup to a pitch that can at least be an average offering. He also improved his slider to get a sharper break on the pitch and it now flashes above-average. Ashcraft has solid control and the Pirates believe his surgery will help iron out some of the command issues he's had so far.
  
  THE FUTURE: Ashcraft should start at one of the Class A levels in 2021. He projects as a back-of-therotation starter but could be more if he continues to fill out and add velocity.
• July, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: The Pirates signed Ashcraft for $1.825 million in 2018 to break his commitment to Baylor. It was the third-highest bonus in franchise history for a player drafted after the first round. The young righty struggled to a 5.77 ERA with short-season West Virginia in 2019, but he handled himself well in a college-heavy league.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Ashcraft is a tall, projectable righthander with loads of athleticism. He was a star wide receiver in high school and touched 95 mph on the mound his senior year. His velocity dipped into the upper 80s after he signed, but he jumped back into the low-to-mid-90s at West Virginia. He has the loose, projectable frame to project to grow into even more velocity. Ashcraft’s upper-70s slider is a slurvy offering that has a long way to go, but he shows feel to spin and could make it an average offering as he adds power and shape. He has feel for an average, low-80s changeup. Like many tall pitchers, the 6-foot-5 Ashcraft has struggled with his control at times. His athleticism provides optimism he will grow into average control.
  
  THE FUTURE: Ashcraft offers a lot to dream on, but his growth will take time. Low Class A Greensboro is next in 2020.
• February, 2020 Scouting Report
  TRACK RECORD: The Pirates signed Ashcraft for $1.825 million in 2018 to break his commitment to Baylor. It was the third-highest bonus in franchise history for a player drafted after the first round. The young righty struggled to a 5.77 ERA with short-season West Virginia in 2019, but he handled himself well in a college-heavy league.
  
  SCOUTING REPORT: Ashcraft is a tall, projectable righthander with loads of athleticism. He was a star wide receiver in high school and touched 95 mph on the mound his senior year. His velocity dipped into the upper 80s after he signed, but he jumped back into the low-to-mid-90s at West Virginia. He has the loose, projectable frame to project to grow into even more velocity. Ashcraft's upper-70s slider is a slurvy offering that has a long way to go, but he shows feel to spin and could make it an average offering as he adds power and shape. He has feel for an average, low-80s changeup. Like many tall pitchers, the 6-foot-5 Ashcraft has struggled with his control at times. His athleticism provides optimism he will grow into average control.
  
  THE FUTURE: Ashcraft offers a lot to dream on, but his growth will take time. Low Class A Greensboro is next in 2020.