Hunter Brown makes his return tonight after months on the IL. His comeback is one of the most anticipated moments of the Astros season.
The 27-year-old was drafted by the Astros in the fifth round in 2019 out of Wayne State. He made his MLB debut in 2022 and has been one of the most exciting young pitchers in baseball ever since. He is known for his electric arsenal, a mid to upper 90s fastball paired with a devastating slider.
He finished third in AL Cy Young voting last season with a 2.43 ERA, 12-9 record, and 206 strikeouts in 185 innings, per MLB.
He was named the Opening Day starter for 2026, the first Opening Day start of his career.
Brown posted a 0.84 ERA in his first two starts of the season. On April 5 he landed on the IL with a Grade 2 right shoulder strain. The first IL stint of his career. The Astros lost their ace just as the season was getting started and have had some serious struggles ever since.
He started his rehab assignment May 24 at Double-A Corpus Christi, per MLB:
- Rehab Start 1: May 24, Double-A Corpus Christi: 2 scoreless innings, 1 hit, 5 strikeouts, 0 walks, 35 pitches, touched 96 MPH
- Rehab Start 2: May 30, Triple-A Sugar Land: 3 innings, 1 run, 1 hit, 5 strikeouts, touched 97.6 MPH
- Rehab Start 3: June 5, Triple-A Sugar Land: 4.1 innings, 1 run, 3 hits, 4 strikeouts, 57 pitches, touched 98.9 MPH
- Combined: 1.93 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 14:1 K:BB in 9.1 innings
The velocity is back and all signs point to a full recovery.
The rotation has been held together by Arrighetti, Teng, Lambert, and Burrows all season. Brown slots in immediately as the ace. Combined with Arrighetti this is one of the better one-two punches in the AL. The Astros are moving to a six-man rotation.
With Hader closing, Altuve back, and now Brown returning this team is starting to look whole. The AL West is still very much in play.
Brown faces Framber Valdez in one of the most compelling matchups of the season. First pitch at 7:10 PM at Daikin Park. The Astros are 33-41 and need a win badly. Brown's return is the spark this team has been waiting for.
