This story was excerpted from Brian McTaggart’s Astros Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here . And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

HOUSTON -- Even if Astros ace right-hander Hunter Brown doesn’t win the American League Cy Young Award, having him as a finalist for the best pitcher in the league -- alongside Detroit’s Tarik Skubal and Boston’s Garrett Crochet -- has already paid dividends for the club.

Brown was eligible for the Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI), which was implemented in the 2022 Collective Bargaining Agreement to encourage teams to promote their best young players to the big leagues as early as possible. Because Brown accrued one year of service time as a rookie and finished in the top three in voting for a major award prior to

See Full Page