Ashcraft experiences positives, negatives of staying 'in the zone'
While his final results weren't necessarily ideal, Braxton Ashcraft exited his spring debut Friday afternoon feeling good about how he felt and the way he stayed in the zone during his 1 2/3 innings of work in the Pirates' 3-2 win over the Rays at LECOM Park.
Ashcraft, the Pirates' No. 4 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, threw 25 of his 33 pitches for strikes en route to throwing more than any other pitcher not named MitchKeller. He allowed two runs on four hits, didn't walk a batter and struck out two. Three of the hits came on competitive pitches in or around the zone, while all four were surrendered when Ashcraft was either even or ahead in a count.
“I haven’t seen any of the reports but I feel like I was in the zone pretty good. Sometimes, the problem can be you’re in the zone too much, too good in the zone late in counts," said Ashcraft, who battled through injuries last season and hadn't pitched against live competition since August. "First outing of the spring, against another team, fans in the stands, I’m happy with how I felt, how the ball was coming out, the shape of my stuff. It was good. Got too late in counts and gave up hits.”
Ashcraft was scheduled to pitch against the Phillies on Monday before inclement weather caused a cancellation in Clearwater. He ended up throwing a live session instead, but he was still eager to throw against actual hitters and compete for the first time this spring.
"That’s why I play this game, to compete. Getting it underway and starting to see other colors in the box, it makes this game fun again. Not that it wasn’t before but you take all offseason and kind of forget what that feels," Ashcraft said. "The first one, getting through it and being healthy and not necessarily having the worst results in the world, there’s stuff to take away from it.”
Here's Ashcraft's full media availability:
A few other notes:
• After throwing two innings in his spring debut last weekend, Keller went three scoreless against the Rays, and looked good doing it. He threw 26 of his 38 pitches for strikes and featured eight pitches above 95 mph. He hit 96 on three occasions and topped out at 97 on the final pitch he threw to JonathanAranda in the third.
"Obviously, I threw a lot more pitches today than I did the last outing. So, I got some more work in there," Keller said. "But yeah, was feeling good, obviously. Some bad, some good. But overall, really positive."
Keller also implemented more changeups this time around. That's a pitch he's used sporadically over the course of his big-league career. He went to it seven times and while he wasn't always in the zone, he did generate two of his nine outs with it.
"Just getting a lot of reps for feel. And then within the game, trying to figure out when are the good times, good opportunities to throw 'em," Keller said. "You just got to see how it plays against different hitters, different styles. Runners on, no runners on, count, base, you're just trying to find every situation you can to throw it in so when the season does happen, you're comfortable."
• DerekShelton talked postgame about a number of different topics, including Ashcraft's outing, Keller's changeup usage and scoreless innings thrown by DavidBednar and ColinHolderman:
Bednar and Holderman combined to give up two hits, a walk and two strikeouts after allowing runs without giving up hard contact during their most recent outings.
"David gave up a fastball down, but it was good to see the execution today. The breaking ball was sharper from David today, which I know is something to think about," Shelton said. "Colin mixed in a four-seamer, and threw a couple of changeups. It's good. I think we have to go back to the fact that it's Feb. 28th. We need guys to work on things. Sometimes the results might not be good. Today they were good. But as long as we're getting the quality of work in, and the quality of reps in, that's the main thing."
• There wasn't much to write home about in regards to the Pirates' offensive performance on this day. They totaled five hits and scored their runs on an RBI double by Isiah Kiner-Falefa, a passed ball and a fielder's choice.
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THE ASYLUM
José Negron
9:47 pm - 02.28.2025Bradenton, Fla.Ashcraft experiences positives, negatives of staying 'in the zone'
While his final results weren't necessarily ideal, Braxton Ashcraft exited his spring debut Friday afternoon feeling good about how he felt and the way he stayed in the zone during his 1 2/3 innings of work in the Pirates' 3-2 win over the Rays at LECOM Park.
Ashcraft, the Pirates' No. 4 prospect according to MLB Pipeline, threw 25 of his 33 pitches for strikes en route to throwing more than any other pitcher not named Mitch Keller. He allowed two runs on four hits, didn't walk a batter and struck out two. Three of the hits came on competitive pitches in or around the zone, while all four were surrendered when Ashcraft was either even or ahead in a count.
“I haven’t seen any of the reports but I feel like I was in the zone pretty good. Sometimes, the problem can be you’re in the zone too much, too good in the zone late in counts," said Ashcraft, who battled through injuries last season and hadn't pitched against live competition since August. "First outing of the spring, against another team, fans in the stands, I’m happy with how I felt, how the ball was coming out, the shape of my stuff. It was good. Got too late in counts and gave up hits.”
Ashcraft was scheduled to pitch against the Phillies on Monday before inclement weather caused a cancellation in Clearwater. He ended up throwing a live session instead, but he was still eager to throw against actual hitters and compete for the first time this spring.
"That’s why I play this game, to compete. Getting it underway and starting to see other colors in the box, it makes this game fun again. Not that it wasn’t before but you take all offseason and kind of forget what that feels," Ashcraft said. "The first one, getting through it and being healthy and not necessarily having the worst results in the world, there’s stuff to take away from it.”
Here's Ashcraft's full media availability:
A few other notes:
• After throwing two innings in his spring debut last weekend, Keller went three scoreless against the Rays, and looked good doing it. He threw 26 of his 38 pitches for strikes and featured eight pitches above 95 mph. He hit 96 on three occasions and topped out at 97 on the final pitch he threw to Jonathan Aranda in the third.
"Obviously, I threw a lot more pitches today than I did the last outing. So, I got some more work in there," Keller said. "But yeah, was feeling good, obviously. Some bad, some good. But overall, really positive."
Keller also implemented more changeups this time around. That's a pitch he's used sporadically over the course of his big-league career. He went to it seven times and while he wasn't always in the zone, he did generate two of his nine outs with it.
"Just getting a lot of reps for feel. And then within the game, trying to figure out when are the good times, good opportunities to throw 'em," Keller said. "You just got to see how it plays against different hitters, different styles. Runners on, no runners on, count, base, you're just trying to find every situation you can to throw it in so when the season does happen, you're comfortable."
• Derek Shelton talked postgame about a number of different topics, including Ashcraft's outing, Keller's changeup usage and scoreless innings thrown by David Bednar and Colin Holderman:
Bednar and Holderman combined to give up two hits, a walk and two strikeouts after allowing runs without giving up hard contact during their most recent outings.
"David gave up a fastball down, but it was good to see the execution today. The breaking ball was sharper from David today, which I know is something to think about," Shelton said. "Colin mixed in a four-seamer, and threw a couple of changeups. It's good. I think we have to go back to the fact that it's Feb. 28th. We need guys to work on things. Sometimes the results might not be good. Today they were good. But as long as we're getting the quality of work in, and the quality of reps in, that's the main thing."
• There wasn't much to write home about in regards to the Pirates' offensive performance on this day. They totaled five hits and scored their runs on an RBI double by Isiah Kiner-Falefa, a passed ball and a fielder's choice.
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