Astros Ace Hunter Brown Earns Top Spot in MLB Pitcher Power Rankings

Despite a hiccup in his most recent start against the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday, Houston Astros ace Hunter Brown has performed in line with the very best pitchers in baseball all season.

Brown entered Wednesday's outing with a 1.43 ERA and was coming off of eight innings of one-run ball in a pitching duel for the ages against Jacob deGrom of the Texas Rangers.

The Astros righty was neck-and-neck with Max Fried of the New York Yankees for American League Pitcher of the Month honors for March and April, but the nod went to Fried.

His streak of dominant starts came to an end, but it did not stop him from earning increased respect from analysts.

Is Hunter Brown the Best Pitcher in Baseball?

MLB.com's David Adler released his latest pitcher power rankings on Thursday, and despite his rough showing against the Rays, Brown nabbed the No. 1 spot.

"Brown is emerging as a Cy Young contender before our eyes," Adler wrote. "After a breakout 2024 season, he's been incredible in 2025. The Astros' young flamethrower is tied for the American League lead with six wins and has a 2.04 ERA and 71 strikeouts in 61 2/3 innings after his start on Wednesday against the Rays. He's allowing the fewest hits per nine innings (5.2) of any qualified starter."

Brown's development has largely been driven by an increased ability to suppress hits.

As Adler notes, he's currently the best in the league at it, and it's come due to improvements in limiting hard contact.

According to Fangraphs' batted ball data, 26.2% of the balls put in play off Brown qualify as soft contact. That's up significantly from the 19.2% he induced last year and the 13.5% he put up in his first full year as a Major Leaguer in 2023.

Baseball Savant paints a similar picture. Brown's allowing an average exit velocity of just 84.8 miles per hour. That puts him in the 98th percentile among Big League pitchers.

That Brown is performing like a Cy Young caliber ace without a massive increase in strikeout volume is hugely encouraging for Houston fans.

A development like that could still be in the cards, as the righty is just 26 years of age.

When Brown was first coming up, he received endless comparisons to former Astros ace Justin Verlander.

As a native of Detroit, Brown idolized the veteran and molded much of his mechanics and delivery after him.

Now, Brown is not just throwing in a way that looks like Verlander; he's performing like him too.