Hunter Brown Earns First Career All-MLB Selection; Astros Add to MLB Staff

HOUSTON, TX - Major League Baseball has named RHP Hunter Brown (starting pitcher) to the All-MLB Second Team. 

The selection was made by fans voting on MLB.com and a decorated panel of media members, broadcasters, former players and other officials throughout the game who each had a say in determining the first and second-team choices.

Brown, 27, earned his first career All-MLB selection. The right-handed pitcher recorded a 2.43 ERA (50ER/185.1IP) with 206 strikeouts, a .201 opponent batting average and a 1.03 WHIP in 31 starts for the Astros this season. Among AL starters this season, he ranked first in opponent SLG (.318), second in ERA, second in opponent OPS (.589), tied for second in quality starts (21), third in strikeouts, fourth in WHIP, fourth in pitching WAR (4.8), fourth in strikeouts-per-nine innings (10.00), fifth in opponent batting average and eighth in innings. Brown’s 2.43 ERA ranked 10th all-time in Astros franchise history and is the second-lowest by an Astros starter in the last 20 seasons (since 2005), topped only in that span by RHP Justin Verlander’s 1.75 mark in his Cy Young-winning 2022 season. Brown was a model of consistency in 2025, posting a 2.43 ERA in his 19 starts before the All-Star Break, and a 2.43 ERA in his 12 starts following the break.

The right-handed pitcher also recorded a 28.0 inning scoreless streak, which was the second-longest streak in the AL this season, and was named the AL Pitcher of the Month for June after he recorded a 1.19 ERA (4ER/30.1IP) with 39 strikeouts, a 0.82 WHIP and a .130 opponent batting average. Lastly, Brown was selected to his first career All-Star Game and finished third in AL Cy Young Award voting.

HOUSTON, TX — The Houston Astros have added to their Major League staff, naming Victor Rodriguez the hitting coach, Anthony Iapoce the assistant hitting coach and Dan Hennigan the director of hitting and offensive coordinator. Additionally, the Astros announced the promotion of Connor Huff to an assistant general manager position. The announcements were made by Astros general manager Dana Brown.

The Astros will announce their full Major League field staff at a later date.

Rodriguez joins the Astros from the Padres, where he served as San Diego’s Major League hitting coach for two seasons (2024-25). Under his watch, the Padres led Major League Baseball in batting average (.258) over the last two seasons combined, while posting the fewest strikeouts in the Majors. Rodriguez also has Major League experience as an assistant hitting coach with the Guardians (2018-23) and Red Sox (2013-17), where he reached the postseason on six occasions, including the Red Sox 2013 Championship run. Rodriguez has over 50 years of experience in professional baseball as a player, instructor or coach.

Iapoce joins the Astros from the Tigers, where he served as Detroit’s first base coach for the last two years (2014-15). Iapoce (pronounced eye-uh-poh-see) has a wealth of experience in baseball, including three-year stints as a Major League hitting coach with both the Rangers (2016-18) and Cubs (2019-21). He also has experience as a minor league manager, a hitting coordinator, a special assistant, and multiple years as a minor league hitting coach.

Hennigan is being promoted to the Major League staff after spending the 2025 season as the Astros minor league director of hitting. Hennigan, who will not be in uniform, will focus on analytics and data, as well as game planning for the Astros Major League hitters. Prior to joining the Astros, Hennigan spent two years (2022-23) as a hitting analyst for the Twins.

Huff joined the Astros in 2022, most recently serving as the Vice President of Business and Baseball Operations, responsible for a number of cross-functional strategic and analytics projects. A graduate from Middlebury College where he was the captain of the men’s varsity basketball team, Huff completed his MBA with honors at Harvard Business School. Prior to joining the Astros, Huff spent time in Africa working on a broad number of projects with the Basketball Africa League and Sports for Education and Economic Development (SEED).