Javier Assad's injury opened a spot in the Chicago Cubs' Opening Day rotation, which Ben Brown promptly filled. Cubs fans had high hopes for Brown, once a top prospect in their organization, but his first month of work suggests that it's time for Craig Counsell and Co. to go in another direction with his rotation spot.
I get the argument for giving him some more time. Brown is only 25 years old, he was once thought of very highly, and he did pitch well when given a chance in the majors last season.
Justin Steele joining Assad on the Injured List made Chicago's rotation depth even thinner, but with how Brown has performed thus far, removing him from the rotation would make the most sense.
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Cubs have given Ben Brown enough chances
Through his first six appearances of the season, Brown has posted a 6.04 ERA in 25.1 innings of work. ERA might not be the best indicator of overall production in a small sample, as one bad start can inflate it tremendously, but a deeper dive into Brown's starts shows that he has not pitched well for the most part.
Most alarmingly, the right-hander has struggled mightily to give length, which is a necessity for this Cubs team that has a lackluster bullpen. Brown has been unable to complete five innings in four of his six outings. A big reason for that has to do with his command, which has eluded him at times.
Brown has an 11.1 percent walk rate, good for the 29th percentile according to Baseball Savant. He's struck out a good number of batters, but his inability to throw consistent strikes has been a problem. He's walked at least three batters in three of his six starts, which, especially when considering the lack of length he's provided, is unacceptable.
With all of that being said, Brown has shown some flashes of brilliance even amid his struggles. As mentioned above, he's struck out a good number of batters. He also shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers over six innings at Dodger Stadium in what might've been the best start of his young career.
Brown being able to do that against that team shows that there's something there, but he has not been close to consistent enough to warrant keeping him in the rotation. Considering the injuries, it might not be ideal to send him down, but Jordan Wicks, another pitcher with MLB experience, has pitched pretty well in Triple-A this season. Inserting him in Brown's spot makes too much sense for the win-now Cubs while letting the young right-hander continue to develop.