Astros Rising Star Quickly Emerging As Team's Ace With Cy Young-Caliber Start

The Houston Astros earned a 2-0 shutout victory on Tuesday over the St. Louis Cardinals, bouncing back from Monday's 8-3 loss with an electric pitching performance.

Fascinatingly, the first two games of the series may have completely reset the hierarchy of the Astros' starting rotation.

Understandably and deservingly so, Framber Valdez was the Opening Day starter and entered the year -- albeit with an expiring contract -- as the defined ace in the rotation looking to have a huge year before he tries to cash in via free agency next winter.

Valdez has not been a complete disaster by any means, but his start on Monday certainly was just that. In four innings, the right-hander gave up 10 hits and seven earned runs in the eventual 8-3 loss in St. Louis.

On Tuesday, however, Houston went from a complete shelling to a shutout 2-0 victory to give themselves a chance to win the series, and the performance from the staff was anchored by another phenomenal outing from their young emerging ace.

Hunter Brown with another DOMINANT outing:

6 IP | 2 H | 0 R | 2 BB | 4 K

He has a 1.50 ERA this season. ACE. #Astros #BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/GlUUnSaRXa
— Astros Future (@AstrosFuture) April 16, 2025

In six innings pitched, 26-year-old Hunter Brown tossed six scoreless innings with just four hits allowed, his second straight start putting up ridiculous numbers. Last time out against the Seattle Mariners, Brown threw six innings of two-hit scoreless ball.

Brown has made a statement in the early portion of the season that he is not just the best pitcher on the Astros, he's one of the best in the American League.

Through his first four starts of the year, he has posted a 1.50 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP with 22 strikeouts in 24 innings, perhaps most impressively with a total of just five walks after dealing with command issues last season.

It doesn't take a mathematician to extrapolate those numbers over a full season to see the makings of someone who's going to receive serious attention for the AL Cy Young award if he keeps it up.

Brown's emergence as a star has raised the ceiling of the starting rotation -- and in turn the ceiling of the team as a whole -- immensely.

Not even eligible for arbitration for the first time until next winter, Brown is under team control through the 2028 season.

Having already started to establish himself as Houston's ace, he has a chance to be the face of the starting rotation for a long time to come.

If Brown can keep it up this year, the Astros are going to be capable of winning in a way not many thought possible headed into 2025.

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