Altoona Curve begin season with 3 of Pirates' top-10 prospects in starting rotation

ALTOONA — Plenty of eyes are on the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Triple-A affiliate, the Indianapolis Indians, whose roster includes top prospect Paul Skenes, fellow right-hander Quinn Priester and several others who likely will hear their number called soon.

But the situation at Double-A Altoona should not be overlooked, with first-year manager Robby Hammock overseeing a club stocked with potential and highly regarded prospects, particularly on the pitching staff.

Right-handers Braxton Ashcraft (No. 7) and Bubba Chandler (No. 5) and lefty Anthony Solometo (No. 4), all of whom rank highly on the Pirates’ top prospects list per MLB.com, are beginning the season with the Curve.

Ashcraft, 24, has navigated through several injuries in his career, including Tommy John surgery in 2021.

But last year, which saw him start at Low-A Bradenton before earning promotions to High-A Greensboro and the Curve, Ashcraft bounced back with a 2.35 ERA over 19 starts.

The 6-foot-5 Ashcraft was added to the Pirates’ 40-man roster last season, protecting him from the Rule 5 draft.

That decision by Pirates management fueled Ashcraft, a second-round (No. 51 overall) draft pick in 2018, during the offseason and served as motivation during spring training, where he flashed a 98 mph fastball and worked on a changeup.

“That was my goal last year, coming off of Tommy John and being in the position that I was in,” he said Tuesday during Altoona’s media day. “My goal was to have the year that I did and force my way onto the roster by (my) play. I feel like I got a really good year and was rewarded with that. It was relieving because that’s something that we all strive for, and it gets you one step closer. It was really rewarding, really relieving and put me into a really great mind space going into spring.”

For Ashcraft, continuing to get experience because he missed a considerable amount of time over the past few years because of injury will be key in his development.

“He’s got to get reps,” said Hammock, who managed Greensboro in 2023. “The thing about Ashcraft, the stuff’s there. He’s a strike thrower. Sometimes he throws too many strikes. But him, it’s about getting reps. He’s coming back from missing time, got a full year in last year, and for me, with his stuff, getting some reps in and starts in, he’s knocking on the door as far as I’m concerned.”

Chandler spent the majority of 2023 in Greensboro, going 9-4 with a 4.75 ERA over 24 starts and 106 innings. He was promoted to Altoona late in the season, making one start for the Curve.

The 21-year-old, drafted by the Pirates in the third round (No. 72 overall) of the 2021 MLB Draft, also joined the club for spring training and got some beneficial work in Florida.

“Personally, I felt like I learned that my stuff played in any count, and I’ve got to throw my stuff in any count,” he said. “That’s what I was working on the whole camp, being comfortable when I’m down, throwing an offspeed pitch in any count and it took pretty much the whole spring training to get super, super comfortable. My last start was really good, all my pitches were working and I felt very comfortable.”

RHP Bubba Chandler, the Pirates No. 5 prospect, getting some work in: pic.twitter.com/Nzc66C5UEU

— Justin Guerriero (@GuerrieroTrib) April 2, 2024

Last summer, Chandler began experimenting with a curveball, a pitch he hadn’t thrown since high school.

As the Curve prepare for their season opener Friday against the Akron RubberDucks, Chandler is pleased with where his curveball is at, poetically describing it as a “metrically beautiful pitch that’s nice to the eye.”

Solometo, 21 years old like Chandler and 6-foot-5 like Ashcraft, ended last season with the Curve, for whom he went 2-4 with a 4.35 ERA over 12 starts.

The 2021 second-round draft pick (No. 37 overall) also spent time earlier last year with the Grasshoppers before his 2.30 ERA through 12 starts and 58 2/3 innings earned him a promotion to Double-A.

Another player starting the year with Altoona is 22-year-old Taiwanese shortstop Tsung-Che Cheng, who, like Ashcraft, Chandler and Solometo, played under Hammock in Greensboro.

Cheng, ranked No. 9 on the Pirates’ top prospects list, hit .308 at the High-A level last season with nine homers and 31 RBIs in 57 games before moving up to Altoona. In 66 games with the Curve, he hit .251 with four homers and 25 RBIs. He stole 13 bases at each level.

As Hammock gets settled in at Altoona himself, he is glad to be around so many players he knows and whom he looks forward to continue developing.

“I’m familiar with these guys,” Hammock said. “A lot of it is building relationships to be able to get your point across and be able to teach and coach. There’s a lot of relationships that are built in previously from last season. I think that carries over from those guys talking to new guys that I haven’t been around to be able to speed up that process.”