Hunter Brown Stats & Scouting Report College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects
Track Record: The Astros drafted Brown in the fifth round in 2019 and signed him for an above-slot $325,000 following a breakout season at Division II Wayne State in Detroit. Brown debuted that summer in the short-season New York-Penn League then missed 2020 because of the pandemic. He jumped straight to Double-A Corpus Christi when play resumed in 2021 and reached Triple-A Sugar Land in early August. Brown made 11 Triple-A appearances over the final two months of the season and struck out 55 batters in 51 innings. He returned to Sugar Land to begin 2022 and made 23 appearances, alternating time as a traditional starter and a bulk pitcher behind an opener. Brown showed improved command of his powerful arsenal as he posted a career best strikeout-to-walk ratio and was selected to pitch in the Futures Game. The Astros called up Brown in early September and he joined his childhood hero Justin Verlander as a member of the Astros staff. He was selected for the Astros' postseason roster and made three appearances between the Division Series and the Championship Series. Brown was included on Houston's World Series roster but did not appear in a game.
Scouting Report: Few define the modern pitcher archetype like Brown, who is a tall righthander with a muscular build and above-average athleticism. He works from a semi-windup with a longer arm action and delivers pitches from an over-the-top release. Brown in many ways mimics the operation of former Astros teammate Justin Verlander, whom he grew up watching in Detroit. In this way, Brown, like Verlander, is able to fluidly generate power across his pitch mix. Brown's arsenal consists of four pitches with his four-seam fastball and two breaking-ball shapes working as his primary repertoire. His fastball sits 95-97 mph and touches 100. It plays up even further because of efficient backspin and an unusually flat plane from his high arm slot. Brown uses two breaking balls with distinctively different shapes in a low-90s slider/cutter hybrid and a low-to-mid-80s curveball with significant depth. Each of Brown's breaking pitches succeeds for different reasons. His ability to command his slider in and out of the zone drives mis-hits and chase swings, while his curveball depth plays perfectly off of his four-seam shape. This allows Brown to dominate with a north-south plan of attack. He'll mix in an upper-80s changeup, but it was rarely used. Brown's command bumped to average in 2022.
The Future: A power pitcher capable of succeeding in a variety of roles, Brown is poised to claim a rotation spot for the reigning World Series champion Astros in 2023.
Scouting Grades: Fastball: 70. Curveball: 55. Slider: 55. Changeup: 45. Control: 50
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