KANSAS CITY -- The Diesel is back.
Astros ace Hunter Brown, who hasn’t pitched since March because of a right shoulder strain, will come off the injured list to start Tuesday’s game against the Tigers at Daikin Park. The 27-year-old righty will face off against former teammate Framber Valdez in his return to Houston.
Brown made his fourth and final Minor League rehab start in Triple-A Sugar Land’s 2-1 loss to Sacramento on Wednesday, allowing one earned run while striking out seven batters in five innings. Valdez won 81 regular-season games and seven postseason games across eight seasons with the Astros, including two in the 2022 World Series.
When Valdez signed with the Tigers in the offseason, Brown assumed the role of ace and made his first Opening Day start on March 26 against the Angels, throwing 102 pitches in 4 2/3 scoreless innings. He threw six innings of one-run ball in his second start on March 31 against the Red Sox, but was pulled after only 78 pitches. Astros manager Joe Espada said he wanted to dial back Brown’s pitch count after his heavy Opening Day workload.
“We’re excited to have him back,” Espada said. “We’re playing good baseball right now. Our rotation needs that boost. Our entire team needs him in our rotation. Just getting him back, he’s one of the best in the game.”
Brown is coming off the best season of his four-year career, which earned him a third-place finish in American League Cy Young Award voting in 2025. He went 12-9 with a 2.43 ERA and a career-low WHIP of 1.03 in 31 starts. He struck out a career-high 206 batters in 185 1/3 innings and allowed only 133 hits, becoming a constant in a rotation rocked by injuries.
Astros starter Spencer Arrighetti, who gave up four earned runs and struck out seven batters across six innings in Sunday’s 4-0 loss to the Royals at Kauffman Stadium, said Brown’s return will be a shot in the arm for the rotation, with ramifications for the bullpen, as well.
“I really look forward to seeing him back next week,” Arrighetti said. “He and I have gotten really close over the last few years, so obviously I’m a huge fan of his. I think that means a lot to this rotation. Obviously, I feel we’ve been doing better as a whole over the last few times across the rotation. I’ve gotten a little more beat up the last couple of games. It stinks.
“I think having him takes a lot of pressure off the bullpen, and it takes pressure off the other guys in the rotation. Obviously, we’re still going to go out there and do exactly what it is that we’re asked, which is take the ball and give us a chance to win. That's something that guy has down to a tee. I’m really excited to see it.”
The Astros are expected to transition to a six-man rotation, which means they could slot in Brown without removing any starters from the rotation. Houston begins a stretch of 13 consecutive games without an off-day beginning Friday against the Guardians at Daikin Park.
Tatsuya Imai (6.43 ERA) and Mike Burrows (5.86 ERA) are scheduled to start the first two games against Cleveland, both of whom would be pitching on six days of rest. The Astros could choose to skip one of them in the next turn to keep the rotation on five days of rest instead of six days of rest.
Shuffling the rotation to accommodate Brown is a good issue to have.
Brown had the longest scoreless-innings streak in the Major Leagues last year at 28 innings from April 3-28 -- the fifth-longest single-season streak by a starter in Astros history. He was named the AL Pitcher of the Month last June after posting a 1.19 ERA and a 0.82 WHIP in 30 1/3 innings, with the Astros winning all five of his starts during the month.