PIRATES

While the Pirates remain open to trade discussions regarding members of their pitching staff after already dealing Johan Oviedo to Boston, Don Kelly has a high level of confidence in the young pitchers that burst onto the scene in 2025. 

Braxton Ashcraft, Bubba Chandler and Mike Burrows were among the youthful arms to make their presence felt in both longer and more abbreviated major-league stints, and Kelly is a believer in their chances to take the next step in 2026. 

Why? 

Because of the way those three in particular managed to overcome adversity in their first taste of big-league action. 

In the case of Ashcraft, it was the way in which he navigated through different roles. Whether he was pitching in long relief or starting games, as he did more often late in the year, he was a productive piece of the staff following his promotion from Class AAA Indianapolis in late May. 

For Chandler, it was how he responded to his first big-league start on Sept. 7 when he allowed nine runs over 2 2/3 innings against the Brewers. One outing later, he was striking out seven Nationals over six innings of one-run ball. The same goes for Burrows. When he wasn't at his best, he learned from his mistakes instead of dwelling on them. 

"I think that experience is what separates," Kelly said yesterday. "When you see Bubba come up and have quick success in his first two, then hit a rough patch there in his next two outings. That game against Milwaukee was a tough one. Then you saw the way he rebounded and responded. All of our guys -- Burrows had a tough outing in Minnesota, I remember, right before the All-Star break. Found a way to bounce back. He showed different glimpses. Ashcraft filled so many different roles last year in the bullpen, starting games. Pitching the ninth inning against the Phillies, it's pouring down rain, we walk (Kyle) Schwarber to get to (Alec) Bohm and he gets a double-play to end it. ... There were so many things, and the thing that stands out to me, when those guys got the ball, they took the ball and dominated as best they could in that moment they had, whether it was starting, relieving, closing, everything in between. It was really impressive to see the way they all did that, competing with each other against the other team, competing against each other for starts and innings. It was really cool to see." 

Ashcraft served in a multitude of roles in his debut season, thriving in long relief before adjusting to a more regular role as a starter late in the year. In 26 appearances (eight starts), he went 4-4 with a 2.71 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and .239 batting average against. Over 69 2/3 innings, he allowed just three home runs, walked 24 batters and struck out 71. 

Like Ashcraft, Burrows began the year at Indy before being recalled in late April. Of the 23 appearances he made, 19 of them were starts, and he ended up throwing 96 innings after being on more of a limit late in the year. He ultimately went 2-4 with a 3.94 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and .243 batting average against. He struck out 97 batters and walked 31. 

Chandler has the least amount of experience of the three, having only made seven appearances and four starts upon his promotion from Indy in August. He had immediate success, though, sporting a 4-1 record to go along with a 4.02 ERA and 0.93 WHIP. The ERA figure is somewhat inflated due to a rough outing in which he allowed nine runs against the Brewers on Sept. 7, but his 31 strikeouts and only four walks, especially after struggling with command in the minors, were encouraging.

"Like we were talking about, that's the foundation of our team," Kelly said of the pitching staff. "That's the competitive drive. I think that, when you look at Paul (Skenes) and Mitch (Keller), they lead in that and the foundation of the pitching staff."