This bold potential solution could help strengthen the Pirates’ Opening Day bullpen

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ bullpen has a very high ceiling, but a low floor as 2025 approaches. The Bucs are taking a gamble on a handful of arms. Hopefully, David Bednar and Colin Holderman rebound, Kyle Nicolas can build off his solid rookie season, and Dennis Santana can prove his 2024 wasn’t a complete fluke. Still, the Pirates can add a safer option and more depth without making an outside addition, getting bold by opening the year with Mike Burrows and Braxton Ashcraft on their roster.

Burrows returned from 2023 Tommy John surgery in June 2024. His numbers at Triple-A were mixed in a small sample size, with a 4.06 ERA, 25.1% K% and 10.2% walk rate. Unfortunately, he gave up home runs at a 1.92-per-9 rate. On the plus side, Burrows made his MLB debut before season's end, only allowing one earned run in 3.1 innings pitched. He also pitched well in 2022 when he had a 4.01 ERA, but struck out an impressive 28.2% of opponents, while carrying a 7.9% walk rate, and 0.76 HR/9. Burrows had just a 3.29 FIP, and his numbers as a whole were inflated by a poor final game to end the season.

It was a small big-league sample size in 2024, as Burrows only appeared in a single game, but his stuff looked as good as ever. Stuff+ pinned him at 108 in his debut. Burrows sits in the 94-96 MPH range with his four-seam fastball. His curveball is a potential plus offering because of its typically high spin rate. Burrows made big steps forward in developing his changeup and slider over the last few seasons. He has always shown decent control as well.

Braxton Ashcraft should join Mike Burrows in Pirates' Opening Day bullpen

Meanwhile, Braxton Ashcraft pitched to a 2.84 ERA, 2.92 FIP, and 1.07 WHIP. Ashcraft also had a solid 25.8% K% with a strong 0.74 HR/9, and has now posted two consecutive seasons with an elite walk rate. In 2023, he handed out a free pass to just 3.6% of his opponents. Last year, he still carried a 4% walk rate.  This led to an oustanding 6.23 K:BB ratio. Ashcraft's K%-BB% of 22.9% over the last two seasons is the ninth-best in minor league baseball, and he's one of only 33 minor league pitchers over 20% (min. 30 games started).

Ashcraft has a four-seam fastball that comes in around the mid-90s. He has a pair of impressive breaking offerings as well. Ashcraft’s upper-80s slider and low-80s curveball both induced a whiff rate of over 40%, according to Baseball America. He will also mix a changeup in from time to time, and while it has improved, it is still a distant fourth pitch and the only offering that doesn’t project as above-average in his arsenal. Thanks to his outstanding control, though, Ashcraft’s stuff plays up.

Both Burrows and Ashcraft have a lengthy injury history. Burrows just came off Tommy John surgery. Meanwhile, Ashcraft barely pitched from 2020 through 2022 and was significantly limited in 2023 before being limited for most of the second half of 2024. Both are also on the 40-man roster, so the Pirates would not have to worry about making a move there. Burrows made his MLB debut, of course, while the Pirates added Ashcraft before he became Rule 5 eligible. Both have yet to pitch even 100 innings in a season as a professional.

Opening the year with Burrows and/or Ashcraft in the bullpen would provide the Pirates with a bigger boost to their relief depth chart than most free agents who were available this offseason would have. The only ones who could have potentially provided a larger impact were the very best available, like Jeff Hoffman or Tanner Scott. Starting both pitchers in the bullpen would not mean the Pirates have given up on them as starting pitchers, either. Just take Garrett Crochet, as a recent example, or Reynaldo Lopez. 

Heading into Opening Day with Burrows and Ashcraft in the major league bullpen would give the 'pen the sort of arms they could greatly use. Their stuff would definitely play in higher leverage, and given their history of starting games, too, they could also toss more than one inning at a time, if needed. It would be a bold decision for the Pirates to start two of their top prospects in the major leagues, but it would also be a great solution to shore up their bullpen.