Hunter Brown's Game-Changing Adjustments for a Stellar 2024 Season
Hunter Brown's Early Struggles
Understatement of the year, but Hunter Brown didn’t have the best start to his 2024 season. In his first six starts through April 30, he allowed 25 earned runs in only 23 innings. He allowed three-plus runs in four of those six starts, including a rather disastrous nine-run performance in less than an inning against the Royals.
Implementing Key Changes
While his peripherals at the time — 5.73 FIP and 4.35 xFIP — indicated that some of his issues were likely due to a higher BABIP (.444), those still weren’t quality numbers. Brown was a demotion candidate entering May and if the Astros rotation didn’t suffer a rash of injuries, well, I think he would’ve spent part of the season in Sugar Land. The results certainly warranted a discussion. But due to circumstances outside of his control, Brown was kept on the Major League rotation out of pure necessity.
New Pitch Strategy
- Houston hoped that he could figure out his issues in the meantime.
- By this point, we already know about Brown implementing a sinker against the Mariners on May 5.
- This change has become his most used pitch against right-handers, with a usage rate pushing almost 50% in July and August.
Based on the pitch’s movement profile, it makes sense why Brown added it to his arsenal. The sinker added a new dimension to his profile and provided a pitch with arm-side movement to help neutralize right-handed hitters.
Pitching Stats
Before implementing his sinker, right-handed hitters had a .439 batting average and a .683 slugging percentage against Brown. Even the expected stats — .325 xBA and .483 xSLG — weren’t all that promising.
- His sinker has been an asset for in-season improvement.
- He has also made changes in how his pitches break compared to 2023.
Continued Adaptations
Another change Brown made entering this season was dropping his 2023 sweeper in exchange for a slider. However, his slider usage saw a sharp downturn in usage — 17.9% in May to 0.9% in June.
In August, the cutter made a comeback against left-handed hitters at around 30.8%, showing his adaptability.
Conclusion on Progress
Brown isn’t afraid to tinker, and it has led to ace-level results since early May (2.59 ERA, 3.26 FIP in 111 1/3 innings).
This article was prepared using information from open sources in accordance with the principles of Ethical Policy. The editorial team is not responsible for absolute accuracy, as it relies on data from the sources referenced.