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Braxton Ashcraft Named Pirates 'Cy Young' For 2026 Season
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- Braxton Ashcraft Named Pirates 'Cy Young' For 2026 Season
(Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images)
The Pittsburgh Pirates saw a lot of success this past season, with the team finishing the year with a record of 82-80.
Pittsburgh wasn't able to make the playoffs, but the team saw growth from multiple players across the roster. The Pirates have a nice young core on the team, giving them hope for the future.
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One of the brighter spots from the season came from right-hander Braxton Ashcraft, who broke out for the Pirates this year. The right-hander put together another strong year for Pittsburgh, even outperforming ace Paul Skenes.
For the season, Ashcraft posted a 3.65 ERA, a 1.09 WHIP, 3.5 WAR, and 173 strikeouts over 28 starts, throwing 165.1 innings for the team. The right-hander proved that he could handle another strong workload for the Pirates this year, showing his worth.
Due to the success of Ashcraft this year, he was named as the MVP of the Pirates pitching staff for 2026 by MLB analyst Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report . Ashcraft performed better than most people would have expected, and it now gives the Pirates more options going forward in the rotation.
Last season, Ashcraft was excellent as well, posting a 2.71 ERA over 26 appearances (eight starts) for the team. In his first full year as a starter, Ashcraft pasted the test with flying colors, giving the Pirates less to worry about.
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Ashcraft looks like a No. 2 or high-end No. 3 for a team, and the Pirates have been very happy with how he has developed. The second-year right-hander figures to be a key piece of the roster for the next few years after his breakout campaign.
Putting Ashcraft alongside Skenes, Jared Jones, Bubba Chandler, and others now has Pittsburgh with one of the better rotations in the sport. If Skenes can bounce back next year to be the top ace that everyone expects him to be, this team could be a real contender.
The future is very bright for the Pirates after multiple years of being at the bottom of the standings, and this team is looking to end the playoff drought next season. If the pitching staff can be a strength of the unit once again, the Pirates could surprise a lot of people next year.
The upcoming offseason could determine a lot for the Pirates, with the front office needing to spend a little bit to add to the team . If they can do this, the sky will be the limit for Pittsburgh next season.
