The Astros could face a big problem in extending Hunter Brown

Despite drafting him in the fifth round, Hunter Brown was someone that the Houston Astros were excited about. It took him just a few seasons to make his MLB debut, and he has not looked back. 

He was exceptional in his first few outings and even pitched out of the bullpen when Houston beat the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2022 MLB World Series. 

This past season was arguably his best, posting a 12-9 record with a 2.43 ERA and 206 strikeouts across 185.1 innings of work. That was good enough to rank third in the 2025 AL Cy Young Award voting. 

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The Astros could face a big problem in extending Hunter Brown

With Houston losing Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown will now serve as the team's ace moving forward. And unfortunately for the Astros, they had a chance to extend the hard-throwing righty in 2024, but the front office believed it was too early to commit to him. 

The Astros were better off committing earlier, but hindsight is 20/20. Now, if they try to get one done, it will surely cost them much more money. 

On top of that, he is represented by Scott Boras, someone who loves to get his clients to the open market and get them the most money possible, per MLB.com's Mark Feinsand.

"Brown is represented by Scott Boras, who typically likes to get his clients to free agency, but the Astros have previously done two extensions with Jose Altuve, who is also repped by Boras."

However, Houston has been able to reach two extensions with Altuve, who is represented by Boras. So, maybe they can get something done here.

Houston still has Brown for three more seasons, so they still have time. But they do not want to wait too long and risk losing yet another ace to the open market.

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