The Chicago Cubs starting rotation has taken it on the chin so far in this 2025 campaign.
They lost lefty ace Justin Steele for the season in early April due to elbow injury. Lefty co-ace Shota Imanaga was lost about a month later with a hamstring injury from which he’s just starting to emerge. Projected fifth starter Javier Assad was lost in spring training with an oblique issue that has kept him from throwing a single competitive pitch this season.
So, losing 60% of your starting rotation means that some unexpected heroes would have to step up and fill the holes or things would go completely sideways.
Matthew Boyd and Jameson Taillon have been the rotation’s anchors in the wake of the injuries. Veteran swing man Colin Rea has put in a number of good performances. Rookie Cade Horton has stepped up and gone from top prospect to rotation asset in recent outings. And, up until his last appearance, sophomore Ben Brown looked to have righted what appeared to be his sinking ship.
Ben Brown Slips Backward
On Wednesday, against the Philadelphia Phillies, however, Brown’s patched-up ship seemed to have started taking on water again.
The 25-year-old Brown would give up 6 earned runs in 5.2 innings– 3 of those runs coming in the first inning, in an apparent return to his first inning mental block.
On May 31, against the Cincinnati Reds, Cubs manager Craig Counsell used a first inning starter, Drew Pomeranz, to start off Brown’s game. The young pitcher would respond by delivering 6 shutout innings , allowing just 1 hit and 1 walk along the way, while striking out 9.
Brown’s next performance was a solid one against the Detroit Tigers, giving up 2 earned runs in 7 innings, sans opener.
Then, the wheels fell back off the cart against the Phillies.
Some are calling for Counsell to make first-inning openers for Brown a regular thing. Others are pushing for the Cubs to move on from Brown if he can’t get his game in order.
The Chicago Cubs’ Crutch
Whatever the case, David Haugh of the Mully & Haugh show on 670 The Score believes that Counsell and the Cubs, by starting this first-inning opener strategy, have given Brown the kind of crutch that may hobble his development as a fully-self-actualized starter.
“I would be reluctant to use him again without an opener,” Haugh said. “I think what we have created, or the Cubs have created or contributed to, is this idea that guys need that one inning to adjust or adapt or to tone things down internally.
“Whether it’s true or not, or whether we think it’s valid or not, whether we think we long for the good old days when pitchers would just go out and give you six or seven, it doesn’t matter because I think the Cubs have maybe Ben Brown in his head believing he’s better with an opener.”
You Have To Keep The Crutch Now
May 13, 2025; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Ben Brown (32) delivers a pitch against the Miami Marlins during the first inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images
Haugh also argues, though, that the Cubs can’t afford to pull that crutch away from Brown right now.
“He doesn’t have to worry about the pomp and the circumstance of any kind of opening the game, and any kind of anxiety that he’s found difficult to manage and start with command,” Haugh asserted. “That’s what I would do. And I would do it next time out, because you can’t afford to waste another start.”
The reality is that the Cubs are, indeed, in a spot where they can’t afford to waste starts. They have to hold things together however they can until Imanaga comes back at full capacity and until some high-end rotation help is found before the trade deadline.
Until then, crutch or not, the team has to do whatever works in the moment.
Chicago Cubs receive updates from 2 teams with pitchers to trade
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