HOUSTON, TX – November 4, 2025 – Houston Astros right-hander Hunter Brown has been named a finalist for the 2025 American League Cy Young Award, capping a breakout season in which he established himself as one of baseball’s elite starting pitchers.
Brown, 27, joins Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal and Boston Red Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet as the three AL finalists. The winner, determined by voting members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, will be announced at 6:00 PM CT on November 12 on MLB Network.
The Wayne State product posted career-best numbers across the board in 2025, going 12-9 with a 2.43 ERA and 1.03 WHIP in 31 starts. He struck out a career-high 206 batters in 185⅓ innings while allowing only 133 hits and posting a .201 opponent batting average. Among AL starters, Brown ranked first in opponent slugging percentage (.318), second in ERA and opponent OPS (.589), tied for second in quality starts (21), and third in strikeouts.
Brown’s dominance was particularly evident during a 28-inning scoreless streak from April 3-27—the longest in MLB during 2025 and the fifth-longest single-season streak by a starter in Astros history. He earned AL Pitcher of the Month honors for June, posting a 1.19 ERA and 0.82 WHIP in 30⅓ innings across five starts, all Houston victories.
His 2.43 ERA ranks 10th all-time in franchise history and is the second-lowest by an Astros pitcher with at least 180 innings since the team joined the American League in 2013.
If Brown wins, he would become the fifth Astros pitcher to capture a Cy Young Award, joining Justin Verlander (2019, ’22), Dallas Keuchel (2015), Roger Clemens (2004), and Mike Scott (1986).
As a PPI-eligible player who finished as a top-three finalist, Brown also earned the Astros an extra draft pick following the first round in 2026.