00:00Who is your breakup pick?
00:02Braxton Ashcraft.
00:04This is a little bit of an easier one because of how good he was last year
00:08for the Pirates, but Ashcraft really was kind of a swing man for them.
00:12And I think he has the talent to be – I think he has middle rotation stuff.
00:16And he can fall to the wayside because of this rotation.
00:20When you have a Paul Skeens, you have a Bubba Chandler,
00:23you have a Jerry Jones coming back.
00:24But I don't think it's crazy to say that in this upcoming season,
00:28Braxton Ashcraft could be a more consistent and productive arm
00:33than Bubba Chandler in his rookie year.
00:35And that's not an indictment on Chandler.
00:36It's just knowing the turbulence that comes with it
00:38and how solid and steady Braxton Ashcraft is.
00:42I feel a little slimy picking him when he had a 2-7-1 ERA
00:47and 69 and two-thirds big league innings.
00:49But again, a lot of it was in favorable situations, bullpen roll,
00:52and then made some more starts later in the year.
00:55Health has been the name of the game for Ashcraft as well.
00:57Another guy that would have, I think, consistently been a top 100 prospect
01:00had he not been hurt so much over the last several years.
01:04But a huge step forward in staying healthy this past year.
01:07And I just love the arsenal.
01:09I mean, he can get at you in so many different ways.
01:12I mean, it's a four-seamer with some run and run and ride,
01:16a sinker, that whole mix-in that gets ground balls,
01:18a change-up, a cutter that I think is a really productive pitch for him
01:22in terms of getting whiff and weak contact,
01:23and then a curveball as well.
01:25And he's comfortable going to all of them.
01:27So I think the execution, the mixture, the deep bag of pitches,
01:31the quality of just about everything that he has,
01:34and then, again, another guy that can kind of blend above-average ground ball.
01:37We'll see how the defense helps with the swing and miss, too.
01:40It's huge.
01:41That cutter is disgusting, and I think it's going to be a consistent low 90s
01:45dominant pitch for him that's really going to help him get through the season consistently.
01:49I think Ashcraft throws, you know, and I can't project the innings,
01:53but I think he throws to that mid to high threes over the course of a whole season as a
01:58starter,
01:58which I think is a breakout because he hasn't really been able to do that
02:03and was in this swingman insulated role last year.
02:06I think it's a great pick.
02:08You know how you said you were jealous you didn't pick Brett Beatty.
02:10I'm jealous that I didn't pick Ashcraft because I'm also impressed.
02:14Everything that you said, the higher ground ball rate,
02:16the respectable strikeout rate doesn't walk a lot of guys,
02:18but he also does a really good job at avoiding barrels.
02:21In terms of barrel percentage, last year, I'm just going over to handy-dandy baseball savant.
02:27His barrel rate was just 4.6%.
02:29That was in the 94th percentile of Major League Baseball.
02:33Why do you think he's so good at avoiding the sweet spot of the bat?
02:37I think it's all the different pitches in all the different directions,
02:39and it's also like you've got to gear up for a fastball that averaged 97 miles per hour last year,
02:44and then you get a cutter at 92 that looks like the heater until the last 15 feet,
02:49and it just hits off the end of your barrel.
02:52Then you also have a sinker running in on you.
02:54You have a power curve at 85.
02:56Everything is hard, but there's still VLO gaps,
02:58and I think it creates this visual that is really difficult for hitters,
03:02gets them sped up, and you just don't feel very comfortable being able to get the barrel to it.
03:07So I want to now talk about the Pirates rotation a little bit because I think it's fascinating.
03:12You obviously have Paul Skeens at the top.
03:15You have Mitch Keller who's kind of just written in as the number two,
03:18but when you look at the rest of the rotation, especially when Jared Jones comes back,
03:23there's a chance that he's moving down to your five starter
03:25because you do have Bubba Chandler and you have Braxton Ashcraft.
03:29When Jared Jones comes back, creating that five, off the top of your head,
03:35where would you rank that rotation in Major League Baseball?
03:39Because I think, all right, the Dodgers are going to have an incredible rotation.
03:42The Mariners are going to have an incredible rotation.
03:46The Yankees, when healthy, Rodon returning in April, Garrett Cole in May.
03:51The Red Sox should have a great rotation.
03:54I'm starting to not be able to name more teams, and we have about a minute left.
04:01Can you name any more teams?
04:02I don't know.
04:03I think that was going to be where I was about to cap it off
04:07because even when you look at the Tigers rotation, it's so good at the top.
04:13So do you give them the nod with a Scoogle and a Fromber?
04:17But, you know, Flaherty, Verlander, Mize, been there, done that a little bit more.
04:21Maybe they get the edge, but that's where it starts to get close
04:24and become a conversation.
04:26I think this is comfortably a top eight rotation in Major League Baseball,
04:30but the boom potential is inside the top five.
04:34If Bubba's doing what he's doing, I think Ashcraft can be the second best arm
04:37this year in that rotation.
04:39If he's that and it's not by default, meaning the other guys are throwing the way
04:43that they can as well, this is a top five rotation in baseball.
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