The Chicago Cubs have some battles brewing for someone to fill the fifth spot in their rotation. The Cubs could potentially utilize a six-man rotation with a couple of their starters either dealing with an injury or working their way back from one.
So far, the Cubs have a solid 1-4, with Shota Imanaga taking the lead, followed by Justin Steele, Jameson Taillon, and Matt Boyd filling out the fourth spot.
In the mix for the fifth spot and potentially for the sixth spot are Colin Rea, Javier Assad, Ben Brown, and possibly the Cubs’ top pitching prospect, Cade Horton.
Chicago Cubs’ young pitcher could make the rotation
Ben Brown has a high chance of making the Cubs’ rotation with having all the talent and skill to be a future middle-of-the-rotation arm, with the potential of being a number two starter. The 25-year-old was a part of the Cubs rotation for his rookie season before having his season cut short due to a neck injury.
Before going down with the injury, Brown appeared in 15 games for the Cubbies, eight of them being starts, in which he had a record of 1-3 with a 3.58 ERA in 55.1 innings pitched. In that short span, Brown displayed his ability to have elite strikeout stuff by striking out 64 batters, which is good enough for a 10.4 strikeout per nine.
Brown comes into the season looking to use another pitch
Coming into this season, the product of Ward Melville High School in East Setauket, NY, is looking to utilize his changeup more, with being strictly a two-pitch pitcher so far in his career. Brown mainly attacks hitters with a high-velocity fastball that sits at 96.4mph and has a wicked knuckle curve to put hitters away.
However, the 6-6 right-hander does get fastball happy with throwing it 62.7% of the time compared to his curveball, which he throws 35.7% of the time. Brown did flash his changeup a few times last season but only threw it 14 times.
Upping his changeup usage should do wonders for Brown, who doesn’t have a pitch that runs into righties. Adding in a changeup would do that and give the hitters something else to think about. Speaking to The Athletic, Brown stressed that upping his usage would be instrumental in helping him fine-tune his arsenal and become more of an elite pitcher.
“I feel like if I don’t have my changeup that day I can get through a lineup with two pitches,” Brown said. “But I want to get to the point where if I don’t have my curveball one day I can get through it with my fastball and changeup, then eventually add even more pitches. But I feel like having the conviction behind what you have is important.”
A healthy Brown is what the Cubs need
Brown comes into this season fully healthy and ready to win a roster spot.
Given his talent and high velocity, if Brown doesn’t make the rotation, he could be an effective weapon for the Cubs out of the bullpen.
Brown will have all of spring to fine-tune and hone in on fully commanding a changeup to help take his game to the next level. If he’s successful, the Cubs could have a top-tier pitcher.
Chicago Cubs: A key piece to the rotation could start the 2025 season on the IL: Report
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