Graham Ashcraft’s Hall of Fame inspiration says everything about his Reds' future

The Cincinnati Reds' bullpen is no longer the best in baseball by a long shot. After getting off to a ridiculously hot start, the unit has come crashing back down to earth in a big way. Nearly all of the Reds' relievers have regressed, with the exception of one, Graham Ashcraft.

Even before Emilio Pagan's injury, some fans were wondering aloud if a change needed to be made in the ninth. Now, with the veteran closer sidelined, they'll get an opportunity to see what that looks like, and it seems that Ashcraft has eyes on taking the job (and maybe holding onto it for good).

The 28-year-old has been dominant this year, with a 1.74 ERA, 29.3% strikeout rate, and 56.5% ground ball rate through 20 2/3 innings this season. It's been a major step up from last year's 3.99 ERA campaign, and a major change from his struggles as a starter from 2022 through 2024.

A big reason for his come-up has been the way in which he's used his high-octane cutter to dominate opposing hitters. Getting the most out of the pitch has been a point of emphasis for him, and he's come to do it by studying some of the best to ever do it -- Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera and future Hall of Famer Kenley Jansen.

With Hall of Fame inspiration, Graham Ashcraft has his sights set on the Reds' closer role, though Terry Francona's plan seems different

The cutter has been such an instrumental part of the careers of Ashcraft's idols. Rivera, as legend has it, discovered the pitch by accident in June of 1997 while playing catch with teammate Ramiro Mendoza. Up until that point, he had used a traditional four-seam fastball, and like Ashcraft, he began his career as a failed starter.

Jansen's career arc is even more fascinating. The big right-hander began his professional career in the Los Angeles Dodgers' system as a catcher in 2006 and only converted to the mound in 2009. A year later, he was in the majors and instantly began blowing hitters away with a cutter that he's used 80% of the time for his career.

“You watch how [Rivera] goes through and attack guys,” Ashcraft said, explaining his takeaways from studying the MLB all-time saves leader. “Against lefties, he always stayed up at their hands. He got them to get soft contact. With the righties, being able to get away off the plate to get chase with it.”

As for Jansen, Ashcraft was more in awe of the power and movement his cutter generated in his prime.

“You see a lot of guys like me get my ball to 16 or 18 (inches) of vert,” Ashcraft said. “That’s a lot of vert on a cutter. Most guys are at typically at six-to-12 or 13 with negative horizontal (break). You watch Kenley do it, and he’s throwing 22-inch vert ball with negative 4 horizontal (break). That’s unhittable. That’s a cut and ride that you don’t see in the big leagues.”

If Ashcraft really wants to be like these two great cutter-specialists, there is something he needs to clean up first. The righty has walked 14.6% of batters he's faced, putting undue pressure on himself to execute.

Jansen's career is still ongoing, but to date, he owns a 7.7% walk rate for his career. Rivera made a living by having impeccable command, posting a minuscule 5.6% walk rate during his storied career.

Ashcraft acknowledges that area of opportunity, saying, "Pounding the zone, that’s it. Throw strike one and let everything else happen. It all comes down to being in tune with yourself, knowing your mechanics and filling the zone up. If you’re feeling good and you’re mechanics are good, more likely than not you’re going to do that.”

Getting on track with his control would allow him to unlock another level of dominance and perhaps allow him to ascend to the closer role full-time. As of now, the Reds are using a closer-by-committee approach.

While Ashcraft might want to ascend to the closer role like his idols, he might follow Rivera's footsteps in a different way. It's long forgotten, but Rivera's career actually kicked off by throwing a ridiculous 107 2/3 innings out of the pen with a 2.09 ERA, serving as the Yankees' fireman while John Wetteland closed games. Maybe that's the role that Francona envisions for him, and that might be the best possible outcome.

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