Was Houston Astros Ace Hunter Brown Snubbed as AL Pitcher of the Month?

There is no question that the Houston Astros have their ace of the future in right-handed starting pitcher Hunter Brown.

One of the main storylines for the 2025 Astros has been and will continue to be the passing of that torch to Brown from lefty Framber Valdez, who has occupied that role ably since 2021.

Valdez is eligible to hit the free agent market after the conclusion of this season, and if recent history is any guide, he will not return to Houston.

The Astros have watched franchise cornerstones like George Springer, Carlos Correa, Gerrit Cole and Alex Bregman walk in free agency, and they traded away Kyle Tucker to the Chicago Cubs this winter to avoid losing him for nothing.

Face of the franchise Jose Altuve is the only player the team has consistently been able to work out extensions with, and it seems far more likely that Valdez will land in the camp with the others than in the one with Altuve.

But Brown is showing the upside to be every bit the ace that Valdez has been.

In March and April, he posted a 4-1 record with a 1.22 ERA and 40 strikeouts in 37 innings of work. He was worth a whopping 1.9 bWAR, tops in the American League.

Brown closed the month with a four-start run in which he allowed just one earned run in 25 innings to go with 25 strikeouts.

Despite that, Brown was not named as the American League Pitcher of the Month on Friday when the honors were announced.

Instead, that recognition went to New York Yankees ace Max Fried, who was also certainly deserving, but very arguably not to the same degree as Brown.

Fried has stepped in brilliantly to replace the former Astro Cole, who is missing the season recovering from Tommy John surgery.

The veteran lefty held a 1.19 ERA through April, virtually identical to Brown's mark, but his 33 strikeouts trailed Brown's output significantly.

He has also produced 1.4 bWAR, a number that is inclusive of another outstanding shutout start on Friday that was of course not considered in the March/April honors.

Both pitchers have been crucial to their team's early performance, as it is scary to think where the Astros might be without Brown's recent excellence.

There is no doubting that both players were deserving of the recognition, but it seems like Brown had a slight but clear edge in the overall bodies of work between the two.