Brown working to become Astros' ace 'for years to come'

This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Hunter Brown’s evolution last year from a fledging starter to a dominant force was one of the biggest developments of the Astros’ 2024 season and mirrored the team’s turnaround from a struggling 7-19 club in early May to an American League West division champion.

It was Brown -- and not veteran Yusei Kikuchi, whom the club gave up three prospects to the Jays for at the Trade Deadline to acquire -- who started Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series against the Tigers. And Brown will be slotted into the No. 2 position in Houston’s rotation to begin year, manager Joe Espada said Tuesday. He’ll start the second game of the season on March 28 against the Mets at Daikin Park.

Brown is the Astros’ ace-in-waiting behind lefty Framber Valdez, who will make his fourth consecutive Opening Day start. Valdez is a free agent after this season, so Brown could get a chance to headline Houston’s rotation beginning next year. But first things first -- Brown is looking to put together a strong campaign from start to finish in 2025.

“I think just as your career goes on you grow,” Brown said. “I can date it back all the way when I was playing college ball, how I felt as a freshman coming in and when I left as an upperclassman. Even when I had two seasons in Triple-A, how I felt the first time I got there and now. Now here, I have a couple of seasons under my belt, so I definitely feel a lot better.”

Brown stopped short of saying he feels more “comfortable,” knowing all too well that’s when you can get knocked down. Others have noticed a change this spring in the 26-year-old right-hander off the field.

“There’s a light about him, and I told him every time he walks through the clubhouse, there’s a presence about him,” Espada said. “His personality is fantastic. He likes to have a good time, but when he walks into the training room or the weight room or getting ready for his day, he’s really serious about his work. And that’s important not only for himself, but I want other people to see how he’s preparing. He can be that leader where some of these young players are watching him, and I want him to be that that type of leader.”

Brown was 0-4 with a 9.78 ERA in his first six starts last season before adding a sinker to his repertoire on May 5, which turned his season around. He went 11-5 with a 2.51 ERA in 147 innings in his final 25 games (24 starts) of the regular season, helping the Astros wipe out a 10-game deficit in the division. Brown threw 170 innings last year and is eyeing a bigger workload.

“For me, that’s the biggest thing, I’d like to get deeper into ballgames,” Brown said. “I had a good stretch last year where I was getting into the sixth inning for a while there, but I’m still a step away from cleaning that up. On a smaller scale level, there’s things I can do to do that. I can get ahead of more hitters, I can put guys away earlier, maybe guys I know aren’t maybe going to strikeout. Maybe I can force their hand and make some weak contact. Just the intricacies of the game and scouting reports that I put into play to help myself out.”

Espada believes Brown is already on his way to taking the next step of his career by the way he carries himself. He has the look and aura of an ace pitcher and could put up the numbers this year to graduate to ace of Houston’s staff.

“We expect him to be an ace for this rotation for years to come,” Espada said. “I always talk to the pitchers, and it’s more than what you do once you deliver the ball. There’s aspects of the game -- controlling your emotions, controlling the running the game, being the complete, total package, and that’s where Hunter really made a big step forward last season. I expect him to do that. I expect him to go deeper into games. I think he has earned the respect, at least from me, to go deep, pitch in the big moments in the game and get higher pitch counts.”

Just like an ace.