Braxton Ashcraft has put himself in the middle of the competition for a spot in the Pittsburgh Pirates' rotation next year.

The right-hander took the loss in the final outing of his rookie season on Thursday as the Reds edged the Pirates 2-1 at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati. Ashcraft had a solid start, though, as he allowed two runs in 4 1/3 innings on eight hits with five strikeouts and one walk.

Ashcraft finished with a 4-4 record and 2.71 ERA in 26 games, including eight starts. He struck out 71 in 69 2/3 innings.

The key statistic for Ashcraft, however, was the 138 innings he combined to pitch with the Pirates and Triple-A Indianapolis. Because of injuries, including Tommy John ligament replacement surgery, Ashcraft pitched just 164 1/3 innings in the minor leagues from 2021-24.

"Making it all the way through, making every appearance, whether it's starting or out of the bullpen, is huge," Ashcraft said. "Setting a foundation to carry that workload into next year and be able to build on that and be pitching in the next month next year, that's the goal. And I think that was the biggest win of this year, throwing up zeros and quality zeros, and still maintaining stuff, maintaining velocity, and giving our team a chance to win whenever I'm well above the previous year's innings numbers."

Ashcraft is one of three rookie right-handers who are finishing the season in the starting rotation, along with Mike Burrows and Bubba Chandler. The Pirates also have three rookie righties in their bullpen in Hunter Barco, Issac Mattson, and Chase Shugart.

That gives the Pirates hope they can turn things around in 2026 despite having a 69-90 record with three games remaining in this season.

'Paul Skenes and Mitch Keller, barring offseason changes, should have rotation spots locked up when spring training begins in February. However, Ashcraft Burrows, Chandler, and right-hander Johan Oviedo will be among those competing for the final three spots.

"Looking forward to where we're at as a staff, where we're at as a team, what we want to accomplish," Ashcraft said.