Cubs’ Brown giving pitching staff a needed boost

Posted May 31, 2026 12:16 pm

By Sahadev Sharma

ST LOUIS — Last fall, the Cubs were debating their roster for a playoff series against the Milwaukee Brewers. A name they considered, and ultimately chose, was Ben Brown. Brown was happy to be a part of the roster, but he also used the fact that he was on the bubble for inclusion as motivation.

“I think Ben was like, ‘I don’t just want to be on the playoff roster; I want to be a part of this thing,’” manager Craig Counsell said. “(He thought), ‘I’ve put myself in this position where you’re having to make that decision.’ He wasn’t complaining about the decision; it was a fair consideration. That’s part of what he put on himself going into the offseason.”

Brown entered this season with two pitches added to his arsenal — a changeup and sinker — and a new mindset. He forced his way onto the roster in the bullpen and quickly established himself as a quality piece of the unit. Now, with injuries forcing him into the rotation, he’s making a case to stay there.

“Ben’s pitched really well, and Ben’s going to continue to make starts,” Counsell said.

Counsell isn’t one to get too far into the future, so for him to say that feels noteworthy. Counsell, at least publicly, treats the future as something he can deal with when the time comes. But to remove Brown from the rotation after what he has done so far would be a step back for Brown and the team.

In Saturday night’s 6-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, Brown was dominant yet again. In seven innings of work — his longest start of the season — he allowed one run on three hits while striking out six and walking one, needing just 82 pitches to get through the night.

“It was a great start,” Counsell said. “I thought getting seven innings at this stage of where he’s at was really impressive. I thought the last at-bat, to (Nolan) Gorman, was a little symbolic of how Ben’s changed. He threw four changeups. That’s just something that couldn’t happen last year.”

Brown got three swinging strikes on those changeups to end his night. It was one of many moments that stood out as the 26-year-old righty continues to emerge as a critical piece of a Cubs rotation that has been searching for answers.

Brown struggled against lefties and righties last season, but lefties especially managed to slug against him, posting a .252 ISO against him. For comparison’s sake, that’s the same number Pete Alonso delivered last season while slugging 38 homers. But this season, Brown has largely neutralized lefties.

Entering Saturday’s game, lefties were slugging just .241 against him with three total extra-base hits. Still, the Cardinals stacked their lineup with lefties Saturday, giving six the start against Brown. The lefties got all three of the hits Brown allowed, but they were all singles, and four of his six strikeouts came against them.

Brown’s overall numbers for the season are brilliant. He has a 1.92 ERA with a 26.4% strikeout rate and 7.5% walk rate. In five starts, his ERA is 1.73. Last season, Brown had strong peripherals but not the results to match, posting a 5.92 ERA in 106 1/3 innings.

That, of course, was before he fully added the sinker and changeup to his arsenal. Opponents hit .315 and slugged .526 on Brown’s four-seam fastball last season. According to Statcast, the pitch had a RunValue of minus-11, one of the worst pitches in baseball. Overall, his average exit velocity against of 92.4 mph was in the bottom 1% of the league.

“It’s a bad feeling being out there feeling like the hitter knows what I’m going to do because I have two choices,” Counsell said. “What the stuff does at the plate and what it does to a pitcher’s mind, I think they’re both really good things for him.”

The sinker in particular has reshaped the way Brown pitches. Though still limiting walks and racking up strikeouts, Brown now has a 51.5% groundball rate, eighth in baseball for pitchers with at least 40 innings thrown. Last season, the highest groundball rate he got on any pitch was his curve at 50%. Now his four-seamer, with a 50% groundball rate, is his worst pitch in that department.

In Saturday’s sixth inning, with the Cubs having just taken a two-run lead, Brown faced one of his few difficult moments. Two men were on with one down, and the Cardinals’ No. 2 hitter, Iván Herrera, stepped to the plate. Brown threw three consecutive sinkers and eventually induced a critical inning-ending double play.

“It simplifies the game,” Brown said. “You’re never too far out of it. It gets you the ability to get deeper into ballgames, gets you more trust. I’m thankful for those pitches, for sure.”

Brown credits a newfound confidence with his success. The added pitches certainly help. Who knows which came first? The bottom line is Brown has gone from barely making the playoff roster last fall to being an essential part of a Cubs rotation that desperately needs some consistency.

It’s the type of metamorphosis good teams need to excel. The Cubs’ staff still needs more help, but Brown is establishing himself as a key cog.

“The confidence, the added pitches, the struggles of last year, they’re all pieces that get you to the present,” Counsell said. “They all matter. They’re all relevant.”