Braxton Ashcraft returned to the mound for Indianapolis on Saturday night. The right-hander had been on the injured list since June 28th, not long after his last start on June 25th.
Ashcraft pitched three shutout innings in relief on Saturday night, allowing three hits, no walks, and striking out three. He now has four appearances at the Triple-A level, with just one earned run in 18.1 innings, along with a 13:4 K/BB.
In his first full-season returning from Tommy John surgery, Ashcraft is facing an innings crunch. He has 72 innings pitched so far in 2024, which exceeds his previous high of 53 innings. He could possibly get to 100-120 innings safely, but from this point, that would likely require a shift to the bullpen for shorter outings like this one.
On Saturday night, Ashcraft threw 18 fastballs and 18 sliders, while adding six curveballs for his 42 pitches. His fastball averaged 95.3 MPH, touching 97.7, and generated two whiffs on eight swings. His slider sat upper 80s, with six whiffs on 12 swings. The fastball slider combo should allow him to pitch in the big leagues in shorter outings at this point.
If Ashcraft pitched the second half in the majors in a role similar to what Luis Ortiz has done this year in the first half, he’d likely end up with a safe season-long innings increase by the end of the year.
TRIPLE-A: INDIANAPOLIS INDIANS
INDIANAPOLIS lost 8-5
- LHP Marco Gonzales: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 3 K, 1 HR
- RF Ji Hwan Bae: 3-for-5, 2 RBI, SB
- C Henry Davis: 2-for-4, 2B, BB
- DH Seth Beer: 1-for-4, HR
- LF Matt Fraizer: 2-for-4, 2B, SB
Marco Gonzales made his second rehab start. The first one saw him pitch three innings. He went into the fifth inning this time around. Henry Davis played his third complete game in a row, and caught a full game for the second time since re-joining Indianapolis on a rehab assignment. Seth Beer hit his third homer with Indianapolis.
STATCAST HEROES
The hardest batted ball of the game was a 107.1 MPH groundout from Liover Peguero. Ji Hwan Bae had three batted balls with triple-digit exit velocity, but only one went for a hit. He ended up with three hits on the day.
DOUBLE-A: ALTOONA CURVE
ALTOONA won 13-12 in ten innings.
- DH Dustin Peterson: 3-for-5, HR, 2B
- RF Yoyner Fajardo: 3-for-5, 2B, BB, SB
- 3B Charles McAdoo: 2-for-5, 2B
- LF Tres Gonzalez: 2-for-4, 2B, BB, SB
- CF-1B Jase Bowen: 2-for-4, BB, 2 SB, 2 RBI
Dustin Peterson led off the scoring with a three run homer in the first inning. He also hit a double as one of his three hits on the day. Yoyner Fajardo picked up three hits and a walk from the leadoff spot. Charles McAdoo followed him with two hits and his third double. Jase Bowen stole two bases, giving him 11 on the season. Tres Gonzalez hit his fifth double and stole his fifth base.
HIGH-A: GREENSBORO GRASSHOPPERS
GREENSBORO lost 11-10
- DH Termarr Johnson: 2-for-4, HR, BB, 2 RBI
- 2B Mitch Jebb: 3-for-5, HR, 2 RBI, 3 SB
- 1B Nick Cimillo: 1-for-4, HR, BB
- LF Hudson Head: 3-for-5, HR, 2 RBI
- RHP Alessandro Ercolani: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Mitch Jebb hit his sixth homer of the year in the first inning of the game. He also stole three bases, including stealing home. He has 24 stolen bases on the season. Nick Cimillo hit his team-leading 17th homer. Termarr Johnson added his ninth homer of the year. Greensboro allowed eight runs in the top of the ninth. Hudson Head hit his ninth homer of the year in the bottom half of the inning, but Greensboro couldn’t make the comeback.
SINGLE-A: BRADENTON MARAUDERS
BRADENTON lost 6-1
- CF Shalin Polanco: 1-for-4, 2 SB
- 2B-SS Keiner Delgado: 0-for-4, SB
- 2B Jeral Toledo: 1-for-2
- LHP Magdiel Cotto: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
- C Omar Alfonzo: 0-for-3, BB
The Marauders offense was held to two hits and three walks, while striking out 14 times. Shalin Polanco had one of the hits, while stealing two bases, giving him eight on the season. Keiner Delgado stole his 14th base of the season.
STATCAST HEROES
Magdiel Cotto had the only clean outing of the game on the pitching side. He threw ten pitches, with eight of them fastballs. He got up to 94.5 MPH with his sinker, and picked up one whiff on two swings against the four-seam.
ROOKIE: FCL PIRATES
FCL PIRATES won 4-3
- LF Estuar Suero: 1-for-2, 2B, 2 BB
- CF Jhonson Pena: 1-for-2, RBI
- 3B Jhonny Severino: 1-for-4
- RHP Carlos Castillo: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
- RHP Alexis Torres: 3.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K
The Pirates only had three hits, but drew nine walks, including a bases-loaded walk by Carlos Tirado in the bottom of the 8th inning to take the lead. Carlos Castillo, an 18-year-old starter in his second pro season, pitched an inning to start the game. Castillo has a 2.81 ERA in 25.2 innings pitched, after a 1.70 ERA in 37 innings in the DSL last year.
ROOKIE: DSL PIRATES BLACK vs DSL PIRATES GOLD
DSL PIRATES GOLD won 13-1
- LHP Reinold Navarro: 2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K
- 3B Daje Morales: 2-for-3, 2 3B
- 1B Edward Florentino: 2-for-5, 3B
All three players above played for the winning Gold team. Reinold Navarro was signed this January, and has a 1.93 ERA in 14 innings, with a 21:8 K/BB. The Gold team had five triples on the day, with two from Daje Morales, and one from first-year player Edward Florentino.
SUNDAY’S SCHEDULE
- The minor leagues are off today.
