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Houston Astros fans have long accepted that Hunter Brown's brilliance isn't going to get the mainstream attention he deserves. Until he starts winning awards or features prominently in the postseason, guys like Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet are going to get more press. This was particularly true on Tuesday night when Brown went toe-to-toe with Skubal only to have the bullpen blow the game in extra innings. However, what is wild is how little respect Brown is currently getting in the AL Cy Young race.
At the moment, Brown ranks in the top three pitchers in the American League by fWAR with Skukal and Crochet, with his ERA (2.36), FIP (2.91), and strikeout rate (10.27 K/9) as good or better than anyone in baseball. However, despite having a strong case on a pretty good Astros team, the current Cy Young odds, according to ESPN, have Brown as a distant third place right now.
Hunter Brown may not win the Cy Young, but his current odds are laughably low
According to ESPN, Skubal is understandably the Cy Young favorite at -275. Given that Skubal won the award last year and he has been awesome this year, having him as the leading candidate is fine. Crochet has also been great, and his being at +225 may be a bit optimistic, but not egregious.
Where things get silly is that Brown, who has comparable numbers on a playoff contender who also has risen to the challenge against tough match-ups time and time again, only got 25-1 odds to win the Cy Young. Being ranked behind Skubal and Crochet is defensible, but that sort of gap in the odds is deeply silly.
Unfortunately, they may also be correct. Skubal was the favorite coming into the season, and it was always true that if he had a good season, he would be the guy to beat unless someone completely outclassed him. Crochet was traded to the Red Sox in arguably the biggest trade of the offseason and has been playing in one of the league's biggest markets. For Brown to get love from the oddsmakers and voters, he needs to make it not close, and that is a shame.
Still, we can all appreciate how important Brown has been to this team, even if the rest of the league can't/won't just yet.