Ashcraft was torched for eight runs (seven earned) in a single inning on Tuesday against Double-A Pensacola, putting an end to a seven-start scoreless stretch that dated back to the end of May.
That's quite a thud to land with after 43 consecutive scoreless innings spread out across High-A and Double-A. He still has a 3.00 ERA and 0.95 WHIP despite this clunker, and he managed to strike out the side in the first inning before the wheels came off in the second. Overall, the 23-year-old has posted a 2.56 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 77:23 K:BB in 59.2 innings in the minors this year. Crucially, he's shown the ability to pitch deep into ballgames, having finished six innings four times in his last seven starts. While he's still got some work to do on his command, Ashcraft looks like he could grow into a major-league starter.