Baseball might be on lockdown, but that doesn’t stop us from giving you more season report cards. In this edition, we’re going to be taking a look at Aaron Ashby and his breakout season.
The 2021 season truly was a memorable season for the Milwaukee Brewers. Part of this can be contributed to their success in the pitching staff. While the Brewers really put their faith and trust into the top three of Brandon Woodruff, Freddy Peralta and Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes, their rookies have been able to contribute to the majors as well.
Eyes have always been on Aaron Ashby since he joined the leagues. He was a 4th round pick back in 2018 out of Crowder Junior College. In 2019, Ashby was a starter for the Carolina Mudcats, where he was named the organization’s Pitcher of the Year. Going between two levels in the minors, Ashby posted a 3.50 ERA in just 126 innings of work.
Season Grade: A-
Coming out of the gate, Aaron Ashby didn’t really have the ideal major league debut. In his start against the Chicago Cubs, he gave up seven runs (four of those earned), and only recorded two outs. It was disappointing to say the least, but he bounced back from that.
This season was his first major league season, and it honestly wasn’t terrible. For a rookie, Ashby showed that he could potentially be a bullpen pitcher for the crew. Ashby ended the 2021 season with a 3-2 record. He posted a 4.55 ERA with 39K’s, and a 1.168 WHIP. He did spend time bouncing back and forth between the minor and major leagues. In Triple A, he posted a 4.41 ERA and 100 K’s with a 5-4 record in 63.1 innings of work; He also earned Triple-A East Pitcher of the Week back in June of this year, respectively.
Though he only appeared in 13 games, his pitching arsenal is nasty and this experience has proven to be beneficial for him. The Brewers are able to depend on Ashby for a couple of innings when they needed to, and this will really help him work his way into the dominant rotation.
It’ll be interesting to see where Ashby ends up come the 2022 season. However, it’s likely that we’ll see him bounce back and forth between the majors and minors since he still has options left. But, ideally, Brewers fans would want to see him make more appearances in the major leagues.
For More…
Follow me on Twitter at @sarahspooon and follow us at @WiSportsHeroics! For all things Wisconsin sports, click here!
