Aaron Phillip Ashby (born May 24, 1998) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). The Brewers chose Ashby in the fourth round of the

2018 MLB draft The 2018 Major League Baseball draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In addition, compensation pi ...

and he made his MLB debut in 2021.

Career

Ashby attended

Park Hill High School Park Hill High School is one of two high schools in the Park Hill School District, in Kansas City. The school is located in northern Kansas City, in Platte County. Park Hill's teams are called the Trojans, and its colors are scarlet and white. P ...

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

, and graduated in 2016. He enrolled at Crowder College, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

. The Texas Rangers of

(MLB) selected Ashby in the 25th round, with the 764th overall selection, of the

2017 MLB draft The 2017 Major League Baseball draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on June 12, while the remai ...

. He did not sign with the Rangers and returned to Crowder. The

selected Ashby in the fourth round, with the 125th overall selection, of the

2018 Major League Baseball draft The 2018 Major League Baseball draft began on June 4, 2018. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was determined based on the reverse order of the 2017 MLB season final standings. In addition, compensation pi ...

. He made his professional debut with the rookie-level

Helena Brewers The Helena Brewers were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pioneer League located in Helena, Montana, from 1978 to 2018. The team played their home games at Kindrick Legion Field, which was built in 1939. They were affiliated with the Milwaukee ...

, and also played for the Single-A

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, a town on the outskirts of Appleton in the Fox Cities, and are nam ...

, posting a cumulative 2–3 record and 3.59 ERA with 66 strikeouts over 13 games. In 2019, Ashby split the season between Wisconsin and the High-A

Carolina Mudcats The Carolina Mudcats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Zebulon, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh, and play their home games ...

, logging a 5–10 record and 3.50 ERA and 135 strikeouts in 24 appearances between the two affiliates. Ashby did not play in a game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Nashville Sounds The Nashville Sounds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. They are located in Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, and are named for the ci ...

to begin the 2021 season. Ashby was shifted to the

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

in June, and recorded a 4–1 record and 4.50 ERA in 12 games for the team. On June 29, 2021, the Brewers announced that they would promote Ashby to the major leagues for the first time. He was formally selected to the 40-man and active rosters the on June 30. Ashby made his MLB debut that day as the starting pitcher against the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

. In his debut, he went of an inning and allowed seven runs, four earned. At the end of his rookie campaign, Ashby made 13 appearances (four starts), and logged a 3–2 record and 4.55 ERA with 39 strikeouts across innings pitched. On July 23, 2022, the Brewers and Ashby agreed on a five-year contract extension that will keep him under contract through the 2027 season, with club options for 2028 and 2029. He made 27 appearances (19 starts) for Milwaukee in 2022, registering a 2–10 record and 4.44 ERA with 126 strikeouts over innings pitched. On February 16, 2023, it was announced that Ashby would miss "a couple of months" with left shoulder inflammation. On April 5, manager Craig Counsell announced that Ashby would require arthroscopic surgery on his left shoulder, and would likely miss the entire 2023 season. The Brewers optioned Ashby to Triple–A Nashville to begin the 2024 season. He was called back up to the Brewers in August and pitched well in a bullpen role. Going into the 2025 season's

spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

, Ashby was in contention for a spot in the Brewers' starting rotation. However, he suffered a strained oblique that would prevent him from throwing for approximately two weeks.

Personal life

Aaron is the nephew of former MLB pitcher Andy Ashby. He is married to Avery Ashby.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ashby, Aaron 1998 births Living people Arizona Complex League Brewers players Baseball players from Kansas City, Missouri Biloxi Shuckers players 21st-century American sportsmen Carolina Mudcats players Helena Brewers players Major League Baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players Nashville Sounds players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players