Houston Astros Emerging Star Pitcher Finally Getting Recognition He Deserves

A young star on the Houston Astros is finally starting to get the recognition he deserves.

Apr 27, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Houston Astros pitcher Hunter Brown (58) on the mound during the third inning against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. | William Purnell-Imagn Images

After a slow start to the season for the Houston Astros, the team has picked it up of late.

The Astros have been finally playing some good baseball of late with the new-look roster starting to come together a bit.

While the offense is still a work in progress, Houston has been led by one of the best bullpens in baseball so far this year. This comes as a bit of a surprise, as the starting rotation was expected to be their greatest strength.

Even though the rotation has done well, there have been some disappointing performances thus far.

However, while the unit overall might be mediocre, one pitcher has been shining to begin the year.

Jeff Passan of ESPN (subscription required) recently wrote about Astros pitcher Hunter Brown finally getting the recognition he deserves as one of the best in the game.

“The quietest ace in baseball began his run of dominance early last season but is only now beginning to receive the recognition he warrants.”

While the expected ace of the staff, Framber Valdez, has got off to a bit of a slow start by his standards, it has been Brown not only leading the way for Houston, but emerging as one of the best in the league.

So far in 2025, he has totaled a 4-1 record, 1.22 ERA, and 40 strikeouts in 37 innings pitched. With a strikeout per nine innings pitched just under 10.0, and a walk rate of 1.7 per nine innings, Brown has done a great job of getting hitters to swing and miss without losing the zone.

At just 26 years old, the right-hander is shaping up to the the future of the rotation for Houston.

Valdez is going to be a free agent at the end of the campaign, and based on his success in his career will likely be paid well. Since the Astros let Alex Bregman walk in free agency and traded away Kyle Tucker prior to having to pay him, Valdez could very well be out of their price range.

If that is the case, they at least have Brown to fall back on to lead the rotation. Going back to the beginning part of last season now, he has been one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, proving that his sucess is no fluke.

While there is still a lot of the campaign to be played, the young right-hander is in the early conversation for the AL Cy Young and an All-Star nomination. With continued success, Brown is going to be a household name soon.