MLB Insider's Pick For Houston Astros April All-Star May Come as a Surprise

The Houston Astros are 16-14 heading into Friday and they have a run differential of just +13. The team has had some struggles this year, both on the mound and at the plate. But there is one pitcher that has exceeded expectations.

Hunter Brown had a great finish to 2024 and his start to 2025 is proving that was not a fluke.

The right-hander has a 4-1 record through six starts this season. He owns a 1.22 ERA through 37.0 innings pitched, he has struck out 40 batters, walked just seven and teams are batting .189 off him.

He has not only been the best pitcher on the Astros, but he is one of the best in the entire MLB.

In fact, Jim Bowden of The Athletic (subscription required) has picked Brown as his April All-Star starting pitcher.

Bowden was looking solely at performance this season, and he only listed the starters at each position. Brown being picked as the starter on the mound in the American League should not come as a surprise to anyone considering what he has been able to do.

Per Baseball Savant, Brown's fastball velocity (96.8 mph), average exit velocity (86.1 mph), strikeout percentage (29.9%) and hard-hit percentage (31.0%) are all in the 85th percentile or better.

The biggest change for the 26-year-old this season has been the usage of his cutter.

In 2024, Brown threw his cutter 16.5% of the time. This year, that has dropped almost 10% to 6.4%. He has been using his knuckle curve and changeup more to make up for the lack of cutters.

It is clear that the cutter is a pitch that gets hit hard. He allows the highest average exit velocity with that pitch this year. Last season, the cutter had the highest expected batting average. Using it sparingly is what made sense for this year and Brown has benefitted from that adjustment.

The AL West is wide open for any of the five teams to grab. It will most likely come down to the Astros, Texas Rangers or Seattle Mariners. As it stands right now, the Mariners sit in first place with Houston and Texas close behind.

The Athletics are playing some great baseball at the moment, but the chances of them keeping that up are slim.

With that in mind, the Astros are going to need to start playing much better. The team has a chance to win the division this year, despite losing some key players in the offseason.

If Hunter Brown can continue to be the pitcher he has been to begin the year, he is going to be the All-Star game starting pitcher. He will also be able to keep the Astros at the top of the division and lead them back to the playoffs.