Chicago Cubs: Ben Brown’s success carries a big, ugly caveat with it

The Chicago Cubs have managed to pull themselves up to third place in the NL Central Division after back-to-back wins on the road, although they remain 7.5 games behind the first place Milwaukee Brewers.

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It’s actually a minor miracle that they’re still so deeply in the mix after an absolutely brutal stretch that saw them go 7-22 over 29 games. The offense has been wildly inconsistent. The bullpen has also gone through patches of inconsistency. Meanwhile, the starting rotation has been an absolute disaster.

While many pointed out that the Cubs rotation lacked a true lights-out ace, most acknowledged its depth and thought it could be the backbone of the team’s run towards the postseason. As the offseason ended, they had nine reasonable candidates for the five-man rotation and maybe a couple of viable contenders for a major league gig in Triple-A Iowa.

Then, the season began.

Cubs rotation calamity

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Cade Horton was lost for this season and beyond following an elbow injury in just his second start of the year. Matthew Boyd has had two separate stints on the IL and just suffered a setback in his recently slated return. Returning ace Justin Steele suffered a setback in his own recovery from elbow surgery and is now on the shelf indefinitely. Edward Cabrera missed more than two weeks with a blister issue. Jameson Taillon had been rocked all season before going on the IL with a hamstring injury. Shota Imanaga, meanwhile, started the season well, but has been getting touched up in recent starts.

The only pleasant surprise coming from the Cubs rotation this season is Ben Brown.

The 26-year-old right-hander stepped into the starter role out of necessity and has become the staff’s de facto ace. In six starts so far this season he’s posted a 1.44 ERA and has looked untouchable at times. It’s been a much-needed development from a previously inconsistent prospect right at the time the team needs him the most.

But there’s considerable dark cloud to go along with Brown’s silver lining.

Ben Brown’s health is a concern

Like many of the young pitchers the Cubs have decided to target via trade or in drafts, Brown has major injury issues in his past. In 2019, as a prospect in the Philadelphia Phillies organization, he underwent Tommy John surgery. He also missed much of 2024 with a neck issue caused by a benign bone tumor.

And, although he looks strong and healthy, Brown’s history and his level of workload this season, are causing the Cubs to put a cap on just how much they load on him.

“We’re going to be cautious because we need him out there,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told The Athletic. “We have to take care of him.”

“But if we want to get him there,” Counsell added, “we have to have some recognition that this is really a guy who’s never made it through a full season as a starter. He started out in the bullpen this year. He’s getting to a pitch-count area (where) the guys that have done it for their whole career (are). Do you want 15 more pitches? Or do you want to prioritize ‘we’re going to walk out of this feeling really good and recover well for the next one’?”

If Brown keeps pitching nearly as well as he has been so far, Chicago desperately needs him to go out to the mound every fifth day. That means rationing him for the remainder of the season.

As things stand right now, that’s about as positive of a development as we can reasonably expect from this Cubs rotation.

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Source: https://www.chicitysports.com/chicago-cubs-ben-brown-injury-history-craig-counsell/