Catching Up With Houston’s Hunter Brown, Who Continues To Evolve

When Hunter Brown takes the mound tonight, he’ll do so with some of the best numbers in the junior circuit. Among qualified pitchers, the Houston Astros right-hander ranks third behind Tarik Skubal and Garrett Crochet in WAR, ERA, FIP, and strikeout rate. An All-Star for the first time this season, the 26-year-old Wayne State University product has established himself as a top-shelf starter.

When he was first featured here at FanGraphs in April 2021, Brown was still a prospect; our initial conversation centered around his background and repertoire. When I next caught up with him in August 2023 (Brown had made his major league debut in September 2022), we covered a recent change to his delivery.

What did we discuss when I sat down with Brown in Fenway Park’s visiting dugout during the Astros’ trip to Boston earlier this month? The answer lies below.

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David Laurila: We last talked two summers ago. What has changed since then?

Hunter Brown: “Two years ago would have been before I started throwing a two-seam sinker and before I started throwing both cutters and sliders. That’s probably the biggest change.”

Laurila: Cutters and sliders?

Brown: “Yes, although I basically throw two cutters. One is a slider, but it’s my slider. It’s hard for me to get below the vertical line. They both have induced vertical break, but if I throw the hoppier one, ideally I’ll get 10 to 13 inches of vertical break and two or three [inches of] cut. Then my slider is like five and five-ish, give or take a couple of inches both ways. A lot of people think it’s a cutter because I throw from such a high slot that it is hard to kill the vertical on it.

“It’s essentially just two different grips. There is the slider I’ve been throwing for however long, and the other I just move over on the seams. It’s like a true cut-fastball grip. I try to ride that one up — I feel that keeping it at the top of the zone is my best chance for a whiff or a popup — and the slider I try to throw down for either a whiff or a groundball.”

Laurila: What was the process that led to throwing both?

Brown: “So, two years ago my mix was basically four-seam, slider, curveball, changeup. I was kind of stuck in a sense. For lefties, I wanted to use a cutter more, because I noticed that the slider I was throwing to certain guys was getting damaged a lot. It was extra-base hits, high exit velos, launch angles — things like that. I was throwing it hard — I was probably averaging around 91 [mph] — but it was finding the lefty’s honey hole. It was down and perfect for the honey hole.

“I was like, ‘All right, I need to do something about that.’ I figured if I could throw it up in the zone, and if I can increase the hop, it will actually stay up there to lefties. That’s how it worked out, although it actually started with trying to throw my slider up in the zone. The ones that I was throwing there accidentally to lefties were performing really well, so I just kind of leaned into that with a newly designed way to get it there. That was the cutter.”

Laurila: Two years ago you told me that your favorite pitch to throw was a changeup, yet you didn’t throw very many of them.

Brown: “Now I throw a lot. It’s actually the same grip, same shape, same everything. I throw it with a split grip, but I still throw it off my middle finger. I don’t want the ball to come out of the back like a split; I still want it to roll off like a changeup.

“It’s a feel-based pitch that I’ve just become more comfortable with. When I first started throwing it, I only used it in the quote unquote safest times. I’d maybe throw it against guys who weren’t good at hitting changeups, or it was like wide open away. Now I use it to both batter sides. I feel comfortable going to it.”

Laurila: Now that you’re throwing a two-seamer, you have a second pitch, along with the changeup, that moves arm side. How much horizontal do you get with your two-seamer?

Brown: “My biggest, best reps are probably 18-19 [inches]. I’ve added throwing two-seams in to lefties, and I feel that playing the changeup off of that helps a lot. To righties as well. If I get a guy who is super cheating to my two in, the change can be a good pitch.”

Laurila: How much arm side are you getting on your changeup?

Brown: “My bigger reps are like 18-19 [inches], but I probably average right around 14 with both my two and my changeup. Depth-wise, I have outlier reps that are around zero, but I never get really below the line. Zero from my slot feels like a lot. I probably average around seven or eight.”

Laurila: Anything to add on either the changeup or two-seam?

Brown: “I like the idea of front-hipping and back-dooring two-seams. I don’t do it very often, but it’s something that I have definitely added, and that I have been able to execute this year. I started doing it a little bit last year, but this year more so. It kind of started with trying to go in to righties with two-seams, and if I missed away, I got a lot of takes. I was like, ‘This is something I can do by design, and lean into.’ I’ve done that.”

Laurila: Given the level of success you’re enjoying, I assume you’re having fun pitching this year?

Brown: “Yes. I mean, it’s still the big leagues, and it’s very difficult, so it’s going to be a hard game. But I enjoy the mental aspect of it this year a lot more. I feel like in my first two years, specifically when I got called up in 2022, I just threw whatever [Martín] Maldonado wanted me to throw. Veteran catcher, it was playoff time, and I knew my role. Since then, I’ve kind of graduated into where I definitely feel like more of a pitcher. That’s especially true for me this year.”