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Astros' Future Cloudy as Ace Will Miss Extended Time with Shoulder Injury

Last week, Houston Astros starting pitcher Hunter Brown went to the 15-Day IL with a shoulder strain. Now it's worse.
Jeremy Gretzer|
Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Hunter Brown (58) works a ball between pitches against the Los Angeles Angels in the first inning at Daikin Park
Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Hunter Brown (58) works a ball between pitches against the Los Angeles Angels in the first inning at Daikin Park | Thomas Shea-Imagn Images

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Houston Astros

Two weeks into the regular season, and the Houston Astros offense is clicking like a well-oiled machine. They currently lead the American League in nearly every single offensive category: batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, walks, home runs, RBI, hits and runs.

Two of the best on-base percentage hitters in the majors are Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez. But the problem is in the rotation.

Astros Pitching Is Atrocious

This offensive outburst for Houston cannot be understated. However, offense is only half the battle of winning ballgames. The defense? Completely lopsided, leaving an Astros record of only 6-5 after 11 games.

Pitching has been the gaping Achilles heel so far for the Astros, both bullpen and the rotation. They've been near or at the bottom of the majors in team ERA (5.71), WHIP (1.58), earned runs allowed (62), home runs, walks allowed (59), and batting average against (23rd).

To make matters a little more concerning, the team's ace in Hunter Brown went down on the 15-Day IL with a shoulder strain on Sunday. So far he's been the team's pitching outlier, picking up where he left off last year--sporting a 0.84 ERA across 2 starts in 10.2 innings striking out 17 batters with a 1.03 WHIP.

General manager Dana Brown initially believed this injury wouldn't require an extended period of time: This past Sunday during the team's pregame radio show, Brown said regarding Hunter Brown's injury that he "isn't too concerned right now because he felt it was not that big of a deal."

Hunter Brown Now Sidelined For Awhile

Now it's a much bigger deal. On Tuesday, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com broke the bad news, citing Hunter Brown's injury was upgraded to a Grade 2 shoulder strain and will be shut down from throwing for a few weeks.



According to Patrick Creighton of SportsRadio610, Grade 2 shoulder strains are usually treated with rest and anti-inflammatories early for the first two weeks, following by a range of motion exercises in the next two. After a month, the rehab increases to light weights and movement, then light throwing around week 6.

A 15-day trip to the IL is a minor setback. Now it will very likely be two months. While it's thankful that Brown's shoulder won't require surgery, this is a big blow to the Astros already shaky rotation. With Framber Valdez now a Detroit Tiger, it's nearly impossible to replace a Cy Young-type finalist.

No Viable Replacement

Cristian Javier and Lance McCullers Jr.'s performances are currently untrustworthy, due to past injury concerns and a mixed bag of starts so far. Mike Burrows' Astros debut has been underwhelming, with a 5.91 ERA in 2 starts allowing seven earned runs in 10.2 innings of work.

Tatsuya Imai, Astros
Houston Astros pitcher Tatsuya Imai (45) throws to an Athletics batter. | Scott Marshall-Imagn Images

Something to look forward to is Tatsuya Imai, who had a bounce back outing in his second career start, shutting out the Athletics in 5.2 innings of work. Still, it's difficult to determine who you can reliably count on, given the scarcity of longevity the current supporting cast has in the pitching rotation behind Brown.

This will be "The Diesel's" first long extended IL stint of his career. Fortunately, silver linings do exist; While the Astros would much rather have a healthy squad in a perfect world, now is the time to lose a a core piece to their rotation early, given that they will be back healthy in the same season. Manager Joe Espada had already planned to call up right-hander Spencer Arrighetti and expand to a six-man rotation later in the year. With Brown gone, the time to expand is now.

It's unlikely another All-Star appearance for the reigning Cy Young finalist will happen this season. The main focus is to ensure he makes a full recovery and returns to the rotation healthy and fix what has been a nightmarish start of pitching for the Houston Astros.

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Jeremy Gretzer
JEREMY GRETZER

Jeremy Gretzer joins Minute Media/Sports Illustrated with a unique background that blends creativity from the performing arts with real experience in sports journalism. Born and raised in Houston, Jeremy has always had a deep connection to the local sports scene, especially the Astros and Rockets. He previously covered the Houston Rockets as a beat reporter for ClutchPoints, where he spent more than a year interviewing players, attending media days, and reporting on the team. He also spent time with Back Sports Page, where he strengthened his writing, editing, and social media skills and eventually grew into an editor role. In addition, he contributed to FanSided’s Astros site Climbing Tal’s Hill, giving him valuable experience covering both the NBA and MLB. Jeremy has been involved in sports journalism on and off since 2022, and over that time he has written articles, handled digital coverage, and created content across multiple platforms. He also shares Astros commentary and baseball storytelling on his TikTok page, where he continues to build an active and engaged audience. Now returning his focus to baseball coverage, Jeremy brings passion, authenticity, and a true Houston perspective to SI’s Astros reporting

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