One of the most disheartening things, I know, I know, the list is long, is that after several years of putting together a solid bullpen, it’s now June and David Ross only trusts two relievers maybe three depending on the day. For that reason, pretty much anyone who can help the Cubs major league bullpen this year is on the radar. Spots are open and there are definitely a few prospects who could be called up soon. The most notable is 23-year-old Ben Brown.
The Cubs acquired Brown last year, when they traded veteran right-handed reliever David Robertson to the Philadelphia Phillies for the young starting pitching prospect. Brown has been dominant in the minor leagues this season, posting a 2.63 ERA in 48 innings between four starts at Double-A and six starts at Triple-A.
This isn’t to say that Brown should be up this very minute, as the young righty has struggled with walks since he was promoted to Triple-A in May. In his first four starts with the Tennessee Smokies at Double-A, Brown struck out 30 and walked 6 in 20 innings. Double-A has used a different ball this season, an “enhanced grip baseball” that has led to high strikeout rates at the level.
So far in 28 innings at Triple-A, Brown has struck out 40, still showing his dominant stuff, but he’s also walked 17 batters, double the rate than at Double-A. So, Brown still has things to work on, but there is no doubt that the Cubs are already planning to see him up in the majors later this summer and most likely using him out of the bullpen.
Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy spoke to Jordan Bastian this weekend and Brown is certainly on the team’s radar.
Via MLB.com.
If the 23-year-old Brown — acquired from the Phillies at the Trade Deadline a year ago — breaks through to the Majors this season, it could be by way of the bullpen.
“It’s a good way to give them a Major League feel, get them competing,” Cubs pitching coach Tommy Hottovy said. “Prove that, at a high level, you can get guys out in the big leagues and in the strike zone. Now, just take that mentality and you’re doing it as a starter.”
In the month of May, Brown made five starts with the Iowa Cubs and despite an uptick in walks, he was still impressive. The right-handed pitcher posted a 3.75 ERA in 24 innings, striking out 36 and walking 12. If you dig deeper, then you’ll notice that Brown really only had one bad start in his first month at Triple-A, giving up 7 of his 10 earned runs last month on May 16.
As is the case for most starting pitchers that are coming up in the Cubs minor league system, Brown may very likely be on an innings limit this season. One way the Cubs can still have him pitch and help out team in the second half of the year is out of the bullpen, which Hottovy believes Brown is more than capable of doing.
“He has that mentality,” Hottovy said. “If he comes up and we throw him in the bullpen, he’s not like, ‘I’ve got my routine. I do all this.’ He’s like, ‘Give me the ball. I just want to throw.’ Any role that he’s in, I think I feel confident in him being able to do it.”
Right now the Cubs are relying on Adbert Alzolay and Mark Leiter Jr. to get outs in high leverage situations out of the bullpen, while Julian Merryweather has gradually gained trust in the past month. Besides those three relievers, Ross doesn’t have other reliable weapons, so you get why he would want a guy like Brown up this year.
Via The Athletic.
“Everyone is on the radar at this point,” Ross said. “We’re hoping Codi comes back soon. That could be, hopefully, another big-league arm that is able to help us out. Ben Brown has been throwing the ball really well in the starter role. Palencia has been sent to the ‘pen, to work out of the ‘pen and try to learn that role — what that consists of, how to go back-to-back, the recovery with all that. There’s a plan in place, for sure, and big-picture stuff. But this is what we’ve got right now. We have conversations daily about those things.”
Right now, I’d guess that Brown makes it up to the big leagues after the trade deadline. That gives the Cubs plenty of time to shuffle through a few of their veteran relievers and see who sticks around, who gets dealt, and by then you hope Brown continues to make positive strides in Triple-A. And well, ideally, Brown not only pitches in the majors, but he pitches in some meaningful games in the final couple of months of the season.
