Hunter Brown's injury puts Houston Astros' rebuilt pitching depth to immediate test

[ASFN Admin]

You must be registered for see images attach

Cody Bolton, who's made one relief appearance for the Astros, will start Monday in Denver in place of ace Hunter Brown, whose injury will now test Houston's pitching depth. (Tim Warner/Getty Images)


WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. - After a scarring 2025 season, the Houston Astros spent a winter stockpiling pitching depth. On Sunday, the first significant test for it arose.

Ace Hunter Brown landing on the 15-day injured list with a right shoulder strain Sunday morning put the Astros in position to alter their rotation plans on short notice. A grueling 10-inning loss to the A's, then, taxed their bullpen and could prompt further reinforcements ahead of Monday's series opener at Coors Field.

"We used a lot of resources to get through that game," manager Joe Espada acknowledged after the 12-10 walk-off defeat.


Brown was slated to start Monday's series opener against the Rockies. Cody Bolton will start that game instead, said Espada, who did not share further pitching plans.

Bolton, who was called up from Triple-A on the Astros' opening homestand and made one relief outing, is likely not stretched out to a full starter's workload. He threw 50 pitches in a three-inning save against Boston last Tuesday, his first outing of the season. He did make two starts at Triple-A Sugar Land toward the end of last season, the longest lasting 4 ⅔ innings.

For Monday, the Astros' long relief coverage is unclear. Ryan Weiss threw 38 pitches Friday and could be available in some capacity. Kai-Wei Teng threw 33 pitches Saturday, putting his availability in question. AJ Blubaugh threw 44 pitches Sunday, ruling him out.

Blubaugh was one of five Astros relievers who worked a combined five-plus innings Sunday, after starter Lance McCullers Jr. exited in the fifth with no outs. That usage alone could prompt Houston to summon a fresh bullpen arm to Coors Field. Jason Alexander, who began the season in the Triple-A Sugar Land rotation, would be on four days' rest Monday following his last start, as well.

Espada did not announce any starters for Colorado beyond Bolton in the opener. Mike Burrows would be on turn to pitch Tuesday, and on five days' rest. Cristian Javier would be on turn Wednesday on four days of rest. Javier has struggled in his first two starts, allowing 12 runs over 8 1/3 innings. Houston has an off-day Thursday before starting a stretch of 13 games with no off-day.

2026 ASTROS STATISTICS

BATTERS	AVG	OBA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	E
Team Totals	.282	.396	347	70	98	28	0	14	64	61	84	9	2	2
Alvarez	.400	.578	30	10	12	3	0	4	10	12	6	1	0	0
Altuve	.344	.523	32	10	11	2	0	2	5	12	7	1	1	0
Walker	.324	.405	37	7	12	6	0	2	11	5	7	0	0	0
Loperfido	.320	.414	25	5	8	3	0	0	3	4	7	1	0	0
Vázquez	.313	.353	16	2	5	2	0	1	5	1	3	0	0	0
Allen	.300	.417	10	5	3	0	0	0	0	2	3	0	0	0
Smith	.273	.400	33	7	9	1	0	2	5	6	10	3	0	0
Peña	.273	.333	22	3	6	3	0	0	0	2	4	1	0	0
Correa	.263	.349	38	8	10	1	0	1	8	5	6	1	0	1
Diaz	.242	.297	33	3	8	1	0	0	6	3	6	0	0	0
Meyers	.233	.333	30	5	7	1	0	1	4	4	7	1	1	0
Paredes	.227	.346	22	4	5	4	0	0	5	2	6	0	0	0
Matthews	.118	.211	17	1	2	1	0	1	2	2	10	0	0	0
Whitcomb	.000	.333	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	0

___

PITCHERS	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	SO
Team Totals	6	4	5.46	10	10	3	89	82	55	54	16	55	109
Brown	1	0	0.84	2	2	0	10.2	5	1	1	0	6	17
Weiss	0	0	1.50	3	0	0	6	5	1	1	1	2	7
Teng	1	0	1.59	3	0	0	5.2	4	1	1	1	1	6
King	0	0	1.69	5	0	1	5.1	4	1	1	0	2	8
Bolton	0	0	3.00	1	0	1	3	3	1	1	1	1	5
McCullers	1	0	3.27	2	2	0	11	9	4	4	0	4	13
Imai	1	0	4.32	2	2	0	8.1	6	4	4	0	7	13
Okert	0	0	4.50	4	0	0	4	1	2	2	0	2	4
Roa	0	0	4.50	3	0	0	2	3	1	1	1	3	2
Burrows	1	1	5.91	2	2	0	10.2	14	7	7	2	5	12
Blubaugh	1	1	6.14	4	0	0	7.1	7	5	5	2	2	7
Javier	0	1	12.96	2	2	0	8.1	10	12	12	2	9	3
Muñoz	0	0	15.75	3	0	0	4	7	7	7	3	6	6
Abreu	0	1	23.63	4	0	1	2.2	4	8	7	3	5	6

How the Astros will adjust their rotation during it is an open question. Team officials said this spring they would likely expand to a six-man rotation amid that stretch - but losing Brown may complicate that plan.

Spencer Arrighetti, who began the season at Triple-A, loomed as the favorite to join the Astros as a sixth starter. Arrighetti would now seem the likeliest candidate to replace Brown in a five-man rotation, for as long as Brown is sidelined. The Astros could tab another sixth starter - perhaps Weiss or Teng - but also be missing the stability Brown was expected to lend in a format that creates a shorthanded bullpen.

General manager Dana Brown said on the team's pregame radio show Sunday that the Astros will "circle back" on the six-man rotation idea: "We could still do that. We have a good group of depth starters, so we can still do that. But we have to talk through it over the next few days with Joe and (pitching coach) Josh Miller. … It's not as pressing, but we can still do it."

Several of those depth starters are in the major-league bullpen, Brown noted. The first week-plus of the season has illustrated the impact of having them there. Houston's starter has failed to finish five innings in five of the team's first 10 games. Just twice has its starter worked at least six innings, including Hunter Brown's second and last start before his IL stint.

Dana Brown said of Arrighetti on the pregame show: "At some point, he'll be back up here." Arrighetti pitched Friday at Triple-A, ruling out the possibility of his starting Monday in Brown's vacated spot. Colton Gordon and Alexander have also continued to build up as starters at Sugar Land, are on the 40-man roster and held rotation spots for Houston at points last season.


Regardless of how the Astros backfill their rotation, Hunter Brown's absence will heighten the impetus on the rest of a group that entered the season with some uncertainties. Burrows was a rookie last year, Javier returned from Tommy John surgery last August and Tatsuya Imai is in his first MLB season after signing from Japan. McCullers struggled in 2025 after returning from a 2 ½-year absence.

McCullers' first start this season was encouraging, as he threw seven innings of one-run ball against the Red Sox. His second Sunday was more laborious, as he allowed five hits and three walks and departed after facing the A's lineup twice. McCullers wields by far the most experience of anyone in the Houston rotation, valuable if he can harness the form from his season debut.

Entering this season, the Astros' Nos. 2-through-5 starters - Burrows, Javier, Imai and McCullers - had combined to throw 226 ⅓ innings in MLB over the past two years. Brown, who placed third in AL Cy Young voting and worked 185 ⅓ innings last season, represented a durable ballast for that group. His first MLB injured list stint may be a referendum on Houston's offseason efforts to bolster it.

"That was one of the reasons we went out and got all these arms in the offseason," Dana Brown told the pregame radio show Sunday. "Last year we went through a trying time with losing guys, and this year we wanted to make sure we were beefing it up. So we really feel comfortable with the depth that we have."

This article originally published at Hunter Brown's injury puts Houston Astros' rebuilt pitching depth to immediate test.

Continue reading...