Ben Brown had one more opportunity to prove he deserves to stay in the starting rotation on Monday night, but instead he made a looming decision a bit clearer for the Chicago Cubs. The right-hander was crushed by the St. Louis Cardinals, who began a crucial four-game series at home against their arch rivals with an 8-2 win. Brown surrendered all eight runs, including four home runs in five innings of work.
The Cubs' pitching staff has been running on fumes lately, but it should be getting a boost this week with the return of Shota Imanaga. The left-hander has been out since May 4 with a hamstring strain, and the Cubs have taken a cautious approach, extending his rehab through the middle of June. Now that the team's ace is coming back, management has to decide who gets bumped out of the starting rotation — and unfortunately, it appears that Brown will be the odd man out.
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Ben Brown hasn't done enough to stay in the Cubs' rotation once Shota Imanaga returns
Brown, who had his 2024 season cut short because of a neck injury, earned the final spot in the rotation to begin the year after Javier Assad suffered an oblique injury in spring training. There have been brilliant starts by Brown since his big-league promotion, including a seven-inning, no-hit effort against the Milwaukee Brewers as a rookie, shutting down the Los Angeles Dodgers on the road and nearly matching Tarik Skubal earlier this month. And that's what makes performances like Monday so frustrating for the team and fans alike.
It's been one hell of a rollercoaster for Brown in 2025. He now has a 6.13 ERA in 79.1 innings, and while the 25-year-old is still figuring things out, the Cubs can't afford the unpredictable nature of Brown's outings. In his last seven starts, the young righty has given up six or more runs four times. In four June outings, opponents have homered seven times in 22.2 innings.
Ben Brown's last seven games
May 19: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 2 HR, 0 BB, 8 K
May 25: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 8 ER, 0 HR, 2 BB, 4 K
May 31: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 HR, 1 BB, 9 K
June 6: 7 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 1 HR, 1 BB, 7 K
June 11: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 1 HR, 3 BB, 5 K
June 17, 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 HR, 2 BB, 5 K
June 23: 5 IP, 9 H, 8 ER, 4 HR, 2 BB, 3 K
Once Brown loses the ability to throw strikes, opposing hitters lock in on his fastball and crush it. He doesn't have the confidence or just hasn't developed the changeup enough yet for it to become a viable third pitch, and Brown is paying the price for having a limited arsenal on the mound.
Colin Rea hasn't yielded much better results in the past month, allowing six or more runs in three of his last six starts, but this might simply be a matter of keeping as many arms in the organization as possible. Rea might make a few more starts, but you know the Cubs are on the phone, eagerly trying to work out a trade for another starter. That would push Rea back to the bullpen, where he'll return to the long-relief role he's best suited for.
As for Brown, the question is what do the Cubs value more: his longterm development as a starting pitcher, or how he can help the Cubs win this season? If it's the latter, then he could theoretically thrive out of the bullpen, going max effort 1-2 innings at a time with his two-pitch mix. If the Cubs still put more value in Brown as a starting pitcher, then they would be wise to send him down to Triple-A, where he can continue to work things out, keep developing and not have his struggles cost the Cubs games in a pennant race.
A year ago, when the Cubs were flirting with a Wild Card spot in the summer, you could justify Brown learning in the big leagues. Now? Chicago has a chance to be a real contender, but they need help in the starting rotation. So far in 2025, Brown has been a bigger liability than they imagined.