Aaron Ashby continues to vulture wins for the Brewers
from Zachary Cariola, with YardBarker.com/www.yardbarker.com
Milwaukee Brewers left-hander Aaron Ashby has been the most effective vulture in Major League Baseball, as he collected his 10th win on Tuesday versus the Cleveland Guardians.
Ashby pitched an inning of relief, allowing a hit and an earned run while walking two and striking out two on 23 pitches (12 strikes). The 28-year-old’s 10 wins lead Major League Baseball and come with 32 appearances (one start), while the Chicago White Sox’s Davis Martin and the Guardians’ Gavin Williams, who are tied for second with nine wins, have done so in 14 starts.
This is the second time in Major League Baseball history that a reliever (Ashby) has been the first to record 10 wins on the season, with all 10 wins coming in relief. Pittsburgh Pirates six-time All-Star and 1960 World Series champion in 1959, Roy Face, was the other to do so.
Face was named an All-Star in 1959, had an 18-1 record, leading MLB in winning percentage (.947), made 57 appearances in 93 1/3 innings and finished seventh in the MVP voting. Face did not win the Cy Young Award, as MLB didn’t give out the award to both leagues until 1967; the Chicago White Sox’s Early Wynn was the winner in 1959.
Aaron Ashby’s teammates have been alluding to him being “the vulture” of the Brewers
In an appearance on the YouTube show “Foul Territory,” Ashby mentioned how his teammates have referred to him as “the vulture” (a reliever who comes into a game and steals the win from the starter). Ashby’s manager, Pat Murphy, who is notorious for nicknaming his players, has not given or referred to his lefty as the team’s vulture.
“The vulture. Murph [Pat Murphy] hasn’t specifically hit me with that one yet, but the rest of the team has,” Ashby said on “Foul Territory.” “When I was here in 2021 and 2022, Brent Suter, one of my favorite teammates, was the vulture of the team. I think he had like 10 wins by the break or something crazy. Every time he came in from getting a vulture win, they’d have a vulture statue in his locker. So, I haven’t gotten there yet, but I don’t know if that’s coming”
(The Greensboro Grasshoppers had a pitcher on their staff back in 2011, when they won the South Atlantic League Championship, and he was Kevin Cravey, and they called him, “The Vulture”…He used to swoop in, and get those Wins.)
Collecting his 10th win might prompt his teammates to bring back the statue to put in his locker.
Not only is Ashby leading the Brewers in wins, but he’s also third in strikeouts (61) and is fifth in innings pitched (44.0). The Brewers have many pitchers deserving of an All-Star nod, with Jacob Misiorowski being the most notable, but Ashby has a case, too.
Middle relievers aren’t known for making the All-Star Game anymore, but not having the major leagues’ wins leader on the roster would be odd. There is precedent for Ashby to make it, as relievers Matt Strahm and Jeff Hoffman made the National League All-Star team for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2024.