HOUSTON -- Astros ace Hunter Brown moved a step closer toward a return to the big league rotation by throwing 57 pitches in 4 1/3 innings of work in his third Minor League rehab start Thursday night for Triple-A Sugar Land against the El Paso Chihuahuas in El Paso, Texas.
Brown, who went on the injured list after two starts with a right shoulder strain, struck out four batters and allowed one walk and three hits, including a solo home run to Marcos Castañon that was the only run against him. He touched 98.9 mph and had 10 whiffs, including five on his four-seam fastball.
In his previous rehab start Friday in Sugar Land, Brown threw three innings and allowed one run and one hit and struck out five batters. Astros general manager Dana Brown has said on numerous occasions Hunter Brown will return in mid-June, so it’s reasonable to assume the pitcher will need at least one more rehab start.
Brown made his first Opening Day start March 26 against the Angels and threw 102 pitches in 4 2/3 scoreless innings. He threw six innings of one-run ball in his second start 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.
The Astros can’t get Brown back soon enough. He was coming off his best season of his four-year career, which earned him a third-place finish in American League Cy Young Award voting in 2025. He assumed the role of Houston’s ace, going 12-9 with a 2.43 ERA and a career-low WHIP of 1.03 in 31 starts in 2025. 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 in ‘25.
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 an Astros starter in history. He was named the AL Pitcher of the Month for 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.