Braxton Ashcraft shines for Pirates in MLB debut

Pittsburgh Pirates #7 overall prospect, RHP Braxton Ashcraft, certainly showed why he could be a very solid big-league starter in his Major League debut.

Ashcraft got the call-up from Triple-A Indianapolis late Sunday to join the Pirates’ bullpen as a long relief arm, which is something Pittsburgh hasn’t had this season. Despite below-average numbers in 10 Triple-A starts this year (5.03 ERA and a 1.49 WHIP), Ashcraft’s stuff certainly played at a high level in three scoreless innings against a tough Arizona lineup.

Ashcraft featured four pitches but primarily threw two – a four-seam fastball that averaged 97 MPH and touched 99, and a slider that he threw 48% of the time with command, which…