Ashcraft (forearm) was reinstated from the 7-day injured list at Triple-A Indianapolis, Andrew Destin of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Ashcraft has been on the Triple-A IL since July 17 with lateral forearm tightness, but he threw a live batting practice earlier this week and has now been cleared to return. The 24-year-old has a combined 2.88 ERA in 72 innings across Double-A and Triple-A.
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Pirates' Braxton Ashcraft: Recovering from forearm injury
Rotowire
Ashcraft's placement on Triple-A Indianapolis' 7-day injured list July 12 was the result of recurrent symptoms of lateral forearm tightness, MLB.com reports.
After suffering the injury during his July 6 start for Indianapolis, Ashcraft met with Dr. Keith Meister, who had previously performed the right-hander's Tommy John surgery in 2021. Fortunately for Ashcraft, his latest forearm issue was confirmed to be muscle-related, so the expectation is that he'll be able to recover from the injury with rest and rehab. Ashcraft resumed playing catch in late July and is still hopeful to return to action before the end of the 2024 season.
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Pirates' Braxton Ashcraft: Heads to Triple-A IL
Rotowire
Triple-A Indianapolis placed Ashcraft on its 7-day injured list July 6 with an unspecified injury.
Ashcraft had previously been placed on Indianapolis' IL on June 28 before being activated July 6, but it's unclear if his latest injury is related to the previous one or a new concern. While the IL stints in quick succession certainly aren't ideal, Ashcraft has otherwise continued to excel when he's been able to take the mound. Over his last 10 outings between Indianapolis and Double-A Altoona, Aschraft has rung up a 1.39 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 59:10 K:BB in 51.2 innings.
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Pirates' Braxton Ashcraft: Sent to minor-league camp
Rotowire
Pittsburgh optioned Ashcraft to minor-league camp Monday, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.
Ashcraft, 24, allowed two unearned runs with a 3:2 K:BB over 3.2 frames this spring. The right-hander pitched well after making it back from Tommy John surgery last season, holding a 2.39 ERA and 63:11 K:BB over 52.2 innings across three levels. He'll likely open the 2024 campaign at either Double-A Altoona or Triple-A indianapolis.
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Pirates' Braxton Ashcraft: Joins 40-man roster
Rotowire
The Pirates selected Ashcraft to their 40-man roster Tuesday.
Ashcraft spent time at Single-A, High-A and Double-A last season, logging a 2.39 ERA and 1.06 WHIP with 63 strikeouts and 10 walks across 52.2 innings between the three levels. While Ashcraft's stats are certainly impressive across the board, the 24-year-old starter has yet to pitch more than 53 innings in a season.
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Pirates' Braxton Ashcraft: Strong return season
Rotowire
Ashcraft finished the year on the development list at Double-A Altoona after logging a 1.35 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 23 strikeouts in 20 innings over eight appearances for the Curve.
The 6-foot-5 righty finished the year with 52.2 innings across Single-A, High-A and Double-A before essentially getting shut down with the development-list placement Aug. 11. It was his first healthy season since undergoing Tommy John surgery in July 2021. Ashcraft will need to show he can handle a starter's workload over a full season, but he flashed a high ceiling and powerful arsenal in a successful 2023 campaign.
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Pirates' Braxton Ashcraft: Undergoes Tommy John surgery
Rotowire
Ashcraft underwent Tommy John surgery last week, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Ashcraft last pitched for High-A Greensboro on July 21 and presumably suffered damage to his UCL in that outing. The procedure will end his 2021 campaign, and it will likely hold him out for most of 2022 as well. The right-hander posted a 5.35 ERA with a 41:12 K:BB across 10 starts with Greensboro this season.
