Douglas Graham Ashcraft (born February 11, 1998) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022.

Early life and amateur career

Ashcraft grew up in

Gurley, Alabama Gurley is a town in Madison County, Alabama, United States, and is included in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 816. History The community takes its name from the Gurley famil ...

, and attended Huntsville High School. He was selected in the 12th round of the

2016 Major League Baseball Draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

by the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

, but opted not to sign with the team. Ashcraft enrolled at

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Unive ...

and began his

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

career with the

Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State Bulldogs is the name given to the athletic teams of Mississippi State University, in Mississippi State, Mississippi. The university is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference and competes in NCAA Division I. Sports sp ...

. As a freshman he went 2–0 with a 5.63 ERA and 25 strikeouts in ten appearances. Following the season Ashcraft transferred to the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a Public university#United States, public List of research universities in the United States, research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Developed from an academic extension center established i ...

(UAB) to play for the

UAB Blazers The UAB Blazers are the varsity intercollegiate athletic programs that represent the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). The school is one of the fourteen member institutions of Conference USA (C-USA) and participates in Division I of th ...

. After sitting out one season due to NCAA transfer rules, Ashcraft went 2–5 with a 5.62 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 53 innings over 17 pitching appearances.

Professional career

The

selected Ashcraft in the sixth round of the

2019 Major League Baseball draft The 2019 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In additi ...

, making Ashcraft the highest-selected player in the MLB draft from UAB. After signing with Cincinnati, he was assigned to the Rookie-level

Greeneville Reds The Greeneville Reds were a Minor League Baseball team of the Rookie-level Appalachian League. They represented the town of Greeneville, Tennessee, though Pioneer Park, their home stadium, was located in the nearby city of Tusculum on the campu ...

. Ashcraft did not play in 2020 following the cancelation of the minor league season due to COVID-19. He was assigned to the

High-A High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Dayton Dragons The Dayton Dragons are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Dayton, Ohio, and play their home games at Day Air Ballpark, formerly known as Fifth Third Field. In 2 ...

, where he went 4–1 with a 2.33 ERA and 55 strikeouts before being promoted to the Double-A

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

. Ashcraft began the 2022 season with the Triple-A

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, win ...

. Ashcraft was promoted to the Reds' major league roster on May 20, 2022. He made his MLB debut on May 22, tossing 4.1 innings against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

and allowing two earned runs. On May 23, he was removed from the 40-man roster and returned to Triple-A Louisville. On May 27, Ashcraft had his contract selected back to the active roster. He finished the season with a 5-6 record and a 4.89 ERA and 71 strikeouts over 19 starts. In 2023, Ashcraft made 26 starts for Cincinnati, logging a 7–9 record and 4.76 ERA with 111 strikeouts in innings pitched. On September 2, 2023, Ashcraft was placed on the injured list with a stress reaction in his right big toe. On September 16, it was announced that Ashcraft would undergo season–ending surgery to repair the toe.

References

External links

Mississippi State Bulldogs bioUAB Blazers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashcraft, Graham 1998 births Living people Sportspeople from Huntsville, Alabama Baseball players from Alabama Major League Baseball pitchers Cincinnati Reds players UAB Blazers baseball players Mississippi State Bulldogs baseball players Greeneville Reds players Dayton Dragons players Chattanooga Lookouts players Louisville Bats players