Cubs fans waited all offseason for the next big addition to the starting rotation. The front office flirted with several teams and even got to the late stages of trade negotiations with at least another to bring in a high-potential arm. But what if the x-factor in the Cubs starting rotation was already on the team.
Well, fans will get to find out immediately because Ben Brown may just be that guy and he's beginning the regular season as the Cubs' No. 5 starter.
The 25-year-old made his final spring training appearance on Tuesday against the Atlanta Braves. Prior to his start at Sloan Park Brown was notified that he was making the starting rotation, following Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon, Shōta Imanaga and Matthew Boyd.
The Cubs have named Ben Brown as their fifth starter, per @sahadevsharma. pic.twitter.com/AdziKOfPlS
— Cubs Zone (@CubsZone) March 25, 2025
Brown, who was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies for David Robertson in 2022, made his MLB debut with the Cubs in 2024. The hard-throwing righty also features a nasty knuckle curve that recently produced 13 whiffs against the Dodgers in Japan.
We got to see a glimpse of how great Brown can be during his rookie season. He recorded a 3.58 ERA in 55.1 innings, making eight starts and 15 total appearances. One of his final outings came against the Milwaukee Brewers at the end of May, when Brown struck out 10 batters in seven no-hit innings against Chicago's NL Central rival.
Brown struck out 64 batters in 2024, posting a 28.6 K% backed by a fastball that hoovers around 96mph and a devastating curve ball. His stuff is exactly why most Cubs fans wanted to see Brown in the starting rotation. Out of all the potential candidates to round out the rotation Brown without question has the highest ceiling.
Ben Brown with 2 K in the first pic.twitter.com/eqcS8McLxs
— Aldo Soto (@AldoSoto21) March 25, 2025
His two-pitch arsenal is a great foundation to have on the mound, but Brown knows that he must continue to develop a third pitch.
Via The Athletic.
Brown can use that changeup to help get hitters off his pitches a bit more. Both his barrel rate (10.9 percent) and hard-hit percentage (51.4) were quite poor last season. That he racked up strikeouts and didn’t walk too many batters last year meant he largely limited the damage. But it’s certainly an area where he can get better.
The Cubs have a solid group in the rotation led by Steele and Imanaga. While Taillon can get hit around from time to time, he's proven to be a steady presence following a couple rough months in 2023. The jury is still out on how affective Boyd will be, but there's no doubt that the one guy who can take the 2025 Cubs starting rotation to a higher level is Ben Brown.
Ben Brown is the x-factor.
There’s the good Ben Brown. Strikes out Shohei Ohtani on three pitches. pic.twitter.com/VP6cwRlAGm
— Aldo Soto (@AldoSoto21) March 18, 2025
The right-hander is lined up to make his first regular-season start against the Athletics on Monday.
