Astros' Joe Espada Shares Hunter Brown Injury Update on Friday

Astros manager Joe Espada has revealed that Hunter Brown responded well after his live batting practice session and his return to the rotation is close. The 27-year-old has been working his way back to full fitness following a Grade 2 shoulder strain. Brown, Houston's ace and a 2025 AL Cy Young Award finalist, is in line to start Sunday for Double-A Corpus Christi, which are at home against Midland.

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This will mark Brown's first game action since last pitching on March 31 against the Boston Red Sox. The right-hander left the rotation April 5 with a Grade two right shoulder strain, the first injury of his career after just two starts. The 27-year-old is currently on the 60-day injured list with a right-shoulder strain and would not be eligible to return to the big-league starting rotation until the end of May.

Brown touched 96 mph in a 22-pitch live batting practice session Tuesday, but Astros general manager Dana Brown has said he could rejoin the major-league team in mid-June, if there is no setbacks. Brown is one of three starters from Houston's season-opening rotation who are on the injured list, along with Cristian Javier, who also has a shoulder strain, and Lance McCullers Jr. (shoulder inflammation). However, his return date could also depend on how he fares during his rehab assignment.

The former fifth-round pick in 2019 out of Wayne State broke out and was an All-Star for the first time in his career in 2025, going 12-9 with a 2.43 ERA (3.14 FIP), 1.02 WHIP, and 206:57 K:BB in 185 1/3 innings over 31 starts. Brown has developed into a front-line starter and shouldn't be floating around on the waiver wire in any fantasy leagues. He had allowed only one earned run with 17 K's and six walks in 10 2/3 frames in his first two starts this year before he injured his shoulder.

In those outings, he allowed one run over 10.2 combined innings with 17 strikeouts. The rotation became historically bad without him as the staff ERA ballooned past 5.50. Tatsuya Imai, the $54 million offseason import from Japan, has not performed up to expectations at an 8.31 ERA through five starts, issuing 14 walks and hitting three batters in just 17.1 innings.

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This story was originally published May 23, 2026 at 9:22 AM.