Over the weekend, New York-Penn League play began. This included Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliate the West Virginia Black Bears.
The Black Bears kicked off their 2019 season on Saturday night. While the team was defeated 5-4 by the Mahoning Valley Scrapers, the game was still noteworthy. Not only was it opening night for the team, but one of the top pitching prospects in the Pirate farm system started for West Virginia on Saturday night.
19-year-old righty Braxton Ashcraft started for the Black Bears on Saturday night. Ashcraft was the Pirates 2nd round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, and he has quickly become one of the top pitching prospects in the Pirate organization.