Morning Rundown: Braxton Ashcraft strikes out 10 over seven innings
Ashcraft strikes out 10, Pirates make roster moves, Domingo German pitches for Bradenton.
After a rough start to the season, the Pirates pitching prospect Braxton Ashcraft has been on a roll over his last two starts.
Pitching against a very good Somerset lineup, Ashcraft tossed five shutout innings last week, he upped it to another level.
Ashcraft pitched a career-high seven innings and reached double-digits in strikeouts, which was also a personal best.
Coming back from Tommy John last year, the Pirates were cautious with his usage, never pitching more than four innings in an outing. So the question entering 2024 was if he could maintain his stuff over an actual starter’s workload.
He’s answered that over his last four starts, in which he’s completed at least five innings. While the on-the-surface results weren’t necessarily there to start—he allowed four earned runs in each of those first two starts—Ashcraft has turned it on over the last two.
That’s now 12 shutout innings, and he’s tossed over his last two starts, with him getting 20 whiffs on Tuesday.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have designated for assignment left-handed pitcher Josh Fleming. They also recalled Ryder Ryan from Triple-A Indianapolis.
Fleming, 27, was signed as a free agent while Spring Training had already begun. He pitched better than the 5.68 ERA shows, with five of his 12 overall earned runs coming in his last outing.
That leaves just Aroldis Chapman as the only left-handed pitcher in the Pirates bullpen.
Domingo German was assigned and pitched for the Bradenton Marauders on Tuesday. A minor league free agent signing, German had spent his entire career with the New York Yankees before becoming a free agent.
In 522.1 innings pitched in the majors, German has a 4.41 ERA and a 31-28 record.
With the Marauders on Tuesday, German threw four innings, allowing three hits and one run, with three walks and four strikeouts. He threw 62 pitches total, 39 for strikes.
Bradenton Marauders activated OF Braylon Bishop from the 7-day injured list
Greensboro Grasshoppers sent RHP Ryan Harbin on a rehab assignment to Bradenton Marauders
Bradenton Marauders placed 2B Juan Jerez on the temporarily inactive list
RHP Domingo German assigned to Bradenton Marauders from FCL Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates recalled RHP Ryder Ryan
Pittsburgh Pirates designate for assignment Josh Fleming
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Top Exit Velocity
Oneil Cruz - PIT - 109.7 mph - Double
Omar Alfonzo - BRD - 108.2 mph - Single
Andrew McCutchen - PIT - 107.6 mph - Lineout
Omar Alfonzo - BRD - 106 mph - Groundout
Esmerlyn Valdez - IND - 104.3 mph - Groundout
Top Pitch Velocity
Kyle Nicolas - PIT - 99.2 mph
Kyle Nicolas - PIT - 99.2 mph
Kyle Nicolas - PIT - 99 mph
Kyle Nicolas - PIT - 99 mph
Kyle Nicolas - PIT - 98.7 mph
Most Whiffs
Braxton Ashcraft - ALT - 20
Wilber Dotel - GBO - 14
Quinn Priester - PIT - 13
Hung-Leng Chang - BRD - 10
Dominic Perachi - GBO - 9
Indianapolis Indians - PPD
Altoona Curve - 1 vs Akron RubberDucks - 2
Top Hitter - Kervin Pichardo: 1-3, R, RBI, HR
Top Pitcher - Braxton Ashcraft: 7 IP, 4 H, BB, 10 K
Greensboro Grasshoppers - 4 vs Hickory Crawdads - 2
Top Hitter - PJ Hilson: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, HR
Top Pitcher - Dominic Perachi: 4 IP, H, BB, 9 K, SV
Bradenton Marauders - 4 vs Tampa Tarpons - 3
Top Hitter - Solomon Maguire: 1-3, R, HR, 3 RBI, BB
Top Pitcher - Domingo German: 4 IP, 3 H, ER, 3 BB, 4 K
FCL Pirates - 2 vs FCL Red Sox - 7
Top Hitter - Jhonny Severino: 2-2, 2 2B, 2 BB, RBI
Top Pitcher - Carlos Castillo: 3 IP, 5 H, ER, 4 K
MLB.com has a piece on bat speed. Cruz is second among all hitters in avg bat speed. (Nobody is close to Stanton.). He still has the highest recorded EV ever from 2022. His 119.7 mph double the other day is second this year to Stanton’s 119.9.
Keith Law has Montgomery mocked to us in his latest draft. He had the Angels taking Yesavage and said he'd be pitching with the big club. Not sure why the hell the Angels would do that but hey, you do you bud