Hunter

Brown

Astros manager Joe Espada told reporters Brown will need at least one additional tune-up before returning to the club’s rotation in mid-June. The 27-year-old fantasy ace threw just 57 pitches over 4 1/3 innings during his latest rehab outing earlier this week, so it makes sense for him to continue building up his pitch count before returning to Houston’s rotation.

Brown threw 57 pitches in his third minor league rehab start at Triple-A Sugar Land on Thursday and came out of that outing feeling good. Espada said that they’ll meet to discuss the next steps for the 27-year-old right-hander, but it sounds like there’s a good chance he could make his long-awaited return to the club’s rotation next week.

He struck out four and walked one while throwing 38 of his 57 pitches for strikes. He touched 98.9 mph during the outing and had 10 whiffs, including five on his four-seam fastball. It’s likely that the right-hander will need one more rehab start before returning in line with his mid-June timeline from weeks ago.

Brown, who threw a bullpen session on Tuesday, was up to 44 pitches in his last rehab start and will probably try to push near 60 pitches in this one. If all goes well, we’d assume he makes one more rehab start before re-joining Houston’s rotation in about two weeks.

Brown averaged 97.6 mph on his four-seam fastball and increased his pitch count to 44 (33 strikes) during his second rehab outing. The lone hit he allowed over three frames was a solo homer to infielder Ryan Fitzgerald. The 27-year-old fantasy ace will likely require at least one or two additional rehab outings to continue building up his pitch count and stamina. He’s on track to return to Houston’s rotation at some point in mid-June.

Brown will make at least one additional rehab start before returning to Houston’s rotation. The 27-year-old fantasy ace struck out five over two scoreless innings in his first rehab outing for Double-A Corpus Christi last weekend. The hope is that he’ll be ready to return by early June.

Brown struck out five and allowed just one baserunner over two frames on Sunday in his first rehab start for Double-A Corpus Christi. The 27-year-old fantasy ace will likely require a couple additional tune-up outings to build up his stamina and pitch count before he’s ready to return to the front of Houston’s rotation at some point in early-to-mid June.

Brown’s last start came on March 31, so he’ll likely need several rehab outings before he’s ready to rejoin the Houston rotation. He was diagnosed with a Grade 2 shoulder strain and given a two-month timeline to return. The Astros will surely welcome back their ace once he’s ready, as they enter Friday with the worst ERA in MLB. Brian McTaggart of MLB.com notes that Josh Hader (biceps) is scheduled to pitch in Sunday’s Double-A contest as well.

Brown threw 22 pitches in a live batting practice earlier this week. He reportedly touched 96 mph, but there’s no word on his command or secondary pitches. Still, it seems like, if his shoulder responds well, Brown will begin a rehab assignment this weekend. He’ll likely need to make at least three starts, but that should put him on track for a mid-June return.

Brown is scheduled to throw a live batting practice session on Tuesday and if all goes well, he’ll be cleared to make a minor league rehab start next weekend. He’s going to require at least a couple of tune-ups there before he’s ready to return. Brown has been shelved since the start of April due to a right shoulder strain.