Pirates Minor League Report: Braxton Ashcraft Shines in Triple-A

The Pirates’ sixth-ranked pitching prospect, Braxton Ashcraft, continued his recent surge on Thursday, cruising through six innings of work in his first-ever Triple-A start. Ashcraft’s efforts helped his team pick up a 4-1 win over the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, as did homers from Grant Koch, Liover Peguero and Gilberto Celestino.

The trend of strong pitching continued with the Altoona Curve, where Drake Fellows punched out four batters in five scoreless innings to kick off a 2-0 win against the Erie Sea Wolves.

The Greensboro Grasshoppers earned a 6-1 win over the Winston-Salem dash with the help of homers from Nick Cimillo and Lonnie White Jr., while the Bradenton Marauders saw their game paused amidst a sixth-inning scoreless tie due to rain.

Here’s a look at the top performing Pirates’ minor leaguers on Thursday.

Triple-A Indianapolis (27-37)

RHP Braxton Ashcraft

• Game: 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 K’s.
• Season: 59.2 IP, 3.47 ERA, 67 K’s in 12 appearances (11 starts) between Altoona and Indianapolis.

C Grant Koch

• Game: 2-for-3 with a homer and a walk.
• Season: .186/.238/.322 with 2 doubles and 2 homers in 19 games.

Double-A Altoona (21-39)

RHP Drake Fellows

• Game: 5 IP, 1 ER, 4 K’s.
• Season: 39.1 IP, 3.66 ERA, 36 K’s in 12 appearances (5 starts) between Greensboro, Altoona and Indianapolis.

LF Yoyner Fajardo

• Game: 1-for-2 with a walk.
• Season: .234/.284/.347 with 2 doubles and 4 homers in 39 games between Altoona and St. Paul (Minnesota’s Triple-A affiliate).

High-A Greensboro (34-25)

3B Charles McAdoo

• Game: 2-for-4 with a double.
• Season: .343/.416/.572 with 13 doubles, 3 triples and 9 homers in 54 games.

DH Nick Cimillo

• Game: 1-for-4 with a homer.
• Season: .301/.387/.592 with 3 doubles and 9 homers in 29 games.

Single-A Bradenton (25-34)

Game suspended due to rain: will resume on 6/14.