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Hunter Brown’s impending return doesn’t solve Astros' latest shortcoming

ByEric Cole|
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May 6, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros pitcher Hunter Brown (58) works out prior to the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images
May 6, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros pitcher Hunter Brown (58) works out prior to the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images | Erik Williams-Imagn Images

By all accounts, Hunter Brown's return from the injured list to the Houston Astros is cause for celebration. The 2025 Cy Young candidate has been out since early April with a shoulder strain, and whenever any pitcher has a shoulder issue, it is a genuine cause for concern. Thankfully, it sounds like Brown's recovery has gone swimmingly, and he should be back placing fear in the hearts of hitters this week. However, that may not be enough to help the Astros back into the AL playoff picture.

Yes, it is true that the American League stinks in 2026 and that Brown's return should help with one of the Astros' biggest weaknesses this season in their rotation. However, unless Brown is shutting teams out on the regular, his return may not change Houston's fortunes very much if the Astros' offense doesn't get their act together.

Hunter Brown's return won't matter much unless the Astros' stagnant offense gets going again

At first glance, the Astros' offense doesn't seem to be much of a problem. They are a top-10 unit in baseball by fWAR, and Yordan Alvarez, Christian Walker, and the now-injured Carlos Correa all have wRC+ north of 120. However, a closer look at Houston's hitters lately has revealed some causes for concern beyond Correa's injury.

Since the start of June, the Astros have the sixth-worst strikeout rate in all of baseball (23.7%) and ranked 19th against the rest of MLB by fWAR. Their 62 runs scored are right in the middle of the pack, but there is trouble brewing under the surface when Walker, Jose Altuve, Cam Smith, Jake Meyers, and Christian Vasquez have all been below-average or worse this month. If Alvarez wasn't on his superhuman pace, Houston would be in big, big trouble right now.

That said, Brown's return does give hope that the bullpen won't be quite as taxed and that Houston will be in more winnable games. For the moment, that is going to have to be good enough. One of these days, though, it would be nice to have this team firing on all cylinders at the same time.

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