Western Wayne Today

Former Wayne State University pitcher Hunter Brown has been named the American League Pitcher of the Month for June. Brown, who played for the Warriors from 2017 to 2019, began July with a win against the Colorado Rockies.

MLB.com reports that Brown is the only qualifying pitcher with an ERA under 2.00 this season, largely due to his performance in June. The Houston right-hander allowed four runs over 30 1/3 innings, achieving a 1.19 ERA—the best in the American League. He concluded June with seven scoreless innings and nine strikeouts in a game against the Phillies, earning him his first Pitcher of the Month Award.

This season, including his recent victory, Brown holds a record of 9-3 for Houston with a 1.82 ERA and a WHIP of 0.90 across 104 innings. He has struck out 126 batters in 17 starts so far this year, following a previous season where he notched up 179 strikeouts. His nine wins are one behind MLB leaders Max Fried and Tarik Skubal. His WHIP ranks second only to Skubal among pitchers with at least 102 innings pitched, and his opponent batting average of .180 is currently the lowest in MLB. Additionally, Brown's record of quality starts trails only Logan Webb from San Francisco.

In college, Brown was notable both on and off the field; he went undefeated in his final campaign at Wayne State University and made it onto the Academic Honor Roll five times as a Public Relations major.