This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Ashcraft goes to the curveball: 41% of his two-strike pitches, against 21.1% the rest of the time.
210 two-strike pitches in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Ashcraft's 4-seam fastball averages 96.8 mph, and has touched 99.6.
252 thrown, 32.1% of his pitches.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Ashcraft's sinker moves 16.2 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
131 thrown, averaging 96.6 mph.
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Ashcraft averages 92.4 mph across his arsenal, 85th percentile in the league.
784 pitches in 2026. 85th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 81st in MLB.
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Ashcraft lives in the strike zone: 46.6% of his pitches are in it, 85th percentile.
784 pitches in 2026. 85th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 84th in MLB.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Ashcraft puts 49.9% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 43.9% of his pitches to left-handers.
351 pitches to right-handed hitters, 433 to left-handed hitters.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Ashcraft's 4-seam fastball carries 15.2 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
252 thrown, averaging 96.8 mph.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Ashcraft lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.18 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
784 located pitches in 2026.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Ashcraft's curveball spins at 2,760 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
207 thrown in 2026.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Ashcraft's stuff spins at 2,479 rpm, 87th percentile in the league.
784 pitches in 2026. 87th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 72nd in MLB.
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Ashcraft's fastball averages 97.2 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 96.2 past his 75th.
120 early fastballs, 52 late ones.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .336 expected average against them, against .283 on his fastballs.
368 of his breaking balls thrown.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Ashcraft throws a fastball 51.2% of the time, against 39% when he is ahead.
207 pitches behind in the count, 236 ahead.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Ashcraft works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Curveball, Slider and Sinker. The 4-seam fastball is 32.1% of everything he throws.
784 classified pitches in 2026.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Ashcraft releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 61 degrees above horizontal and 0.8 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
784 tracked release points, averaging 6.0 feet off the ground.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Ashcraft projects a .299 average, 75th percentile.
784 pitches in 2026. 75th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 133rd in MLB.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Ashcraft throws a strike on the first pitch 64.8% of the time.
219 plate appearances started in 2026.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Ashcraft's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 91.0 mph, against 87.1 off his slider.
252 and 161 of them thrown.
He lives on one side of the plate
Ashcraft works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.2 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
784 located pitches in 2026.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Ashcraft throws the sinker 24.8% of the time against right-handers and 10.2% against left-handers.
351 pitches to right-handers, 433 to left-handers.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
11.9 mph separates Ashcraft's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 96.8 against 85.0.
252 and 207 of them respectively.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 89.4 mph off the bat against Ashcraft, 34th percentile.
784 pitches in 2026. 34th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 353rd in MLB.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Ashcraft lands 49.6% of his fastballs in the zone and only 42.1% of his breaking balls.
383 of his fastballs, 368 of his breaking balls.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Ashcraft releases the ball 6.3 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
629 tracked pitches in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Ashcraft puts 54.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 48.7% when he is ahead.
207 located pitches behind, 236 ahead.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Ashcraft has thrown 33 splitters this season, 4.2% of his pitches, at 91.3 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
784 classified pitches in 2026.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Ashcraft goes to the curveball: 41% of his two-strike pitches, against 21.1% the rest of the time.
210 two-strike pitches in 2026.
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Ashcraft throws a fastball 51.2% of the time, against 39% when he is ahead.
207 pitches behind in the count, 236 ahead.
He gets ahead early and pitches from in front all night
Ashcraft throws a strike on the first pitch 64.8% of the time.
219 plate appearances started in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Ashcraft puts 54.1% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 48.7% when he is ahead.
207 located pitches behind, 236 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Ashcraft's 4-seam fastball averages 96.8 mph, and has touched 99.6.
252 thrown, 32.1% of his pitches.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Ashcraft's curveball spins at 2,760 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
207 thrown in 2026.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Ashcraft works with 4 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Curveball, Slider and Sinker. The 4-seam fastball is 32.1% of everything he throws.
784 classified pitches in 2026.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Ashcraft's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 91.0 mph, against 87.1 off his slider.
252 and 161 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Ashcraft throws the sinker 24.8% of the time against right-handers and 10.2% against left-handers.
351 pitches to right-handers, 433 to left-handers.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
11.9 mph separates Ashcraft's 4-seam fastball from his curveball, 96.8 against 85.0.
252 and 207 of them respectively.
One pitch exists only to make the hitter think
Ashcraft has thrown 33 splitters this season, 4.2% of his pitches, at 91.3 mph: a look rather than a weapon.
784 classified pitches in 2026.
Show more
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Ashcraft's sinker moves 16.2 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
131 thrown, averaging 96.6 mph.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Ashcraft's 4-seam fastball carries 15.2 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
252 thrown, averaging 96.8 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He throws about as hard as anybody in the league
Ashcraft averages 92.4 mph across his arsenal, 85th percentile in the league.
784 pitches in 2026. 85th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 81st in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Ashcraft lives in the strike zone: 46.6% of his pitches are in it, 85th percentile.
784 pitches in 2026. 85th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 84th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Ashcraft puts 49.9% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 43.9% of his pitches to left-handers.
351 pitches to right-handed hitters, 433 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Ashcraft lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.18 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
784 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on one side of the plate
Ashcraft works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.2 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
784 located pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Ashcraft's stuff spins at 2,479 rpm, 87th percentile in the league.
784 pitches in 2026. 87th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 72nd in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His velocity drains away as the outing goes on
Ashcraft's fastball averages 97.2 mph in his first 25 pitches of a start and 96.2 past his 75th.
120 early fastballs, 52 late ones.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Ashcraft releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 61 degrees above horizontal and 0.8 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
784 tracked release points, averaging 6.0 feet off the ground.
He releases the ball about where everyone else does
Ashcraft releases the ball 6.3 feet down the mound, a shorter stride than most.
629 tracked pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his breaking balls: a .336 expected average against them, against .283 on his fastballs.
368 of his breaking balls thrown.
He throws strikes to one type of hitter and not the other
Ashcraft lands 49.6% of his fastballs in the zone and only 42.1% of his breaking balls.
383 of his fastballs, 368 of his breaking balls.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Ashcraft projects a .299 average, 75th percentile.
784 pitches in 2026. 75th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 133rd in MLB.
When hitters connect off him, they hit it hard
Hitters average 89.4 mph off the bat against Ashcraft, 34th percentile.
784 pitches in 2026. 34th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 353rd in MLB.
Pirates