Early reactions to Hunter Brown in Astros camp should have everyone really excited

Hunter Brown was very good for the Houston Astros in 2025, earning American League Cy Young consideration. As long as Brown is pitching in the same league as Tarik Skubal, it may be difficult for him to actually win the award. That being said, if the Astros are going to be playing consequential games in October this year, Brown will need to be an important piece to their roster.

Brown has only been tagged with one run through his first three starts in spring training, but his latest outing may be what truly gets Astros fans excited. Whispers, it was against the Washington Nationals, but Brown's stuff was electric. He pitched four no-hit innings while striking out 9 of the 14 batters he faced.

As Joe Espada described, it was the sinker that was creating the success for Brown against the Nationals.

“The breaking balls were really good, but he was so locked in with his fastball that the few times he spun that breaking ball, the hitters were like, 'Oh my God.' They forgot he also had that pitch in his arsenal,” Espada said. “Really good performance.”

To the shock of no one, Brown is the Astros' Opening Day starter and will likely make two more spring training starts before turning his attention to the regular season.

Hunter Brown's latest spring training start validated the Astros' offseason approach

Obviously, the ultimate goal for the Astros is that Brown gets through spring training healthy. After a 2025 season that was defined by endless injuries to the pitching staff, Houston can't afford to be without Brown for any significant amount of time during the 2026 season.

Especially when they have spent the offseason prioritizing depth and creative gambles. Signing Tatsuya Imai and trading for Mike Burrow was the Astros doubling down on their pitching infrastructure, but at this juncture, neither should be viewed as a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher.

Brown's ascension toward being one of the best starting pitchers in all of baseball is likely why the Astros felt comfortable making those decisions. It's also why Dana Brown and Co. never felt motivated to bring Framber Valdez back.

Speaking of Valdez, it's worth mentioning that Brown has two more seasons of arbitration before becoming a free agent ahead of the 2029 season. It's why Skubal winning his hearing against the Detroit Tigers earlier this offseason did the Astros no favors. They haven't been in the business of paying starting pitchers, and the hope is Brown is the exception to the rule.