Given how quiet the Cubs’ bats have been lately (and the fact that Chris Sale is throwing like it’s still 2017), the only way the Cubs were going to win last night’s finale in Atlanta was in a pitching duel. But with Ben Brown on the mound, making just his second start of the year against the top team in baseball on the road … I wouldn’t say I was exactly expecting that.
Well, shame on me, because Ben Brown freakin’ ROCKED for his four innings and 64 pitches of work (he’s still stretching out), and the way he went about it is so very encouraging. That’s what we’re going to talk about today.
But first, watch him strike out seven of the 15 batters he faced:
7 Ks in 4 innings ?Ben Brown was DEALIN' ?? pic.twitter.com/DboWZKX3dR
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 15, 2026Ben Brown, You Bad, Bad Man
Let’s begin by checking out the final line of Ben Brown’s first two starts this season, because they were both so impressive, just in very different ways.
@TEX: 4.0 IP, 0H, 0ER, 1BB, 3K @ATL: 4.0 IP, 1H, 0ER, 1BB, 7KIn his first start (against the Rangers), Brown kept the Rangers hitless over four innings with just one walk allowed. And despite the general lack of Ks, the results were convincing because he got a ton of groundballs and did a nice job of limiting hard contact.
In his second start (against the Braves), the ball was hit in the air a lot more often and with more authority, but Brown struck out seven of the 15 batters he faced, which is both absurd and impressive.
So two great games, but two different ways he achieved those results. So what was different between the two games? And why does that make me so excited about what comes next?
The pitch mix (and successful execution therein).
By now, pretty much everyone knows that the key to Brown’s breakout this season has been an evolution of the pitches he has at his disposal. Brown was previously a two-pitch pitcher (four-seamer, knuckle curve), and despite the impressiveness of both pitches (he’s got excellent velo on his heater and great movement on the curve), that just wasn’t working for him. Batters would sit on one pitch and crush it when they guessed right.
So last year, the Cubs helped him add a changeup, but that wasn’t quite enough of a difference maker. This year, however, he added yet another pitch (a sinker), and that’s made him so much better at keeping hitters off balance. It also allows him to attack two similarly left-handed lineups in completely different ways.
Indeed, both the Rangers (five lefties) and the Braves (six lefties) tried to stack the deck with left-handed hitters against Brown. And that made some sense … in the past.
Ben Brown’s Splits: 2024vsLHH: .304 wOBAvsRHH: .226 wOBA
Ben Brown’s Splits: 2025vsLHH: .378 wOBAvsRHH: .317 wOBA
But this year, armed with not only the changeup (a good tool against lefties), but also the sinker, Brown has completely flipped the script:
Ben Brown’s Splits: 2026vsLHH: .199 wOBAvsRHH: .217
Here’s the first most exciting and encouraging long-term part about this development: he doesn’t just have one type of attack anymore.
After throwing 10 sinkers (22%) in his first start of the year against the Rangers, he threw just 6 last night (9%). Likewise, he increased his changeup usage from four pitches against the Rangers (9%) to eight against the Braves (12%). And while one attack was geared towards weak contact, the other was to set up the strikeout. And both efforts prevailed, proving (to us, to the Cubs, maybe even to advance scouts) that it’s even harder than ever to know what to expect from him.
And the second most exciting and encouraging long-term part: the newfound variety in his pitch mix is less about those pitches succeeding and more about setting up his primary offerings.
Against the Rangers, Brown netted five whiffs on nine knuckle curveballs. Against the Braves, he got nine whiffs on 15 curves. That is without a doubt his best out pitch, but finally, it’s making batters look as silly as it should:
Ben Brown's 2Ks in the 3rd pic.twitter.com/da6cl8Jngn
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) May 15, 2026In each of the last two games, Brown generated a laughable 40% o-swing rate (meaning batters were offering at 40% of the pitches he threw out of the zone). League average is 29.9%. And Brown’s average in 2024 and 2025 was 28.6%.
On the knuckle curve, in particular, Rangers batters chased 43% of the time. And last night, the Braves hitters swung at 63% of the knuckle curves he threw out of the zone. That is *incredible*, and it’s hard not to credit the new pitches with its improved effectiveness. (I don’t think I need to tell you, but just in case: more swings out of the zone is good because they’re more likely to lead to either whiffs or weak contact).
So not only can Brown now change which pitches he uses to keep a team off balance, he’s able to execute both new pitches well enough to set up his knuckle curve.
I really don’t think I can overstate the significance there. Brown’s heater and curve have always had the stuff to make him dominant, but he couldn’t use either effectively or consistently until now.
Why Is This So Important?
Well, if I have to tell you why this is important in the short-term, you’re not paying enough attention this season. Cade Horton is out for the year. Justin Steele’s rehab hit a wall with a second arm injury. And Matthew Boyd just had surgery, and is already on his second IL stint of the season. Meanwhile, the Cubs are one of the best teams in baseball and have eyes on the World Series.
But I’m more focused on next season.
After this year, Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, and Jameson Taillon are all hitting free agency. Likewise, Cade Horton won’t pitch until AT LEAST the 2027 All-Star Break.
So that leaves the Cubs with the following Opening Day rotation for 2027:
Justin Steele, LHP (entering his walk year) Edward Cabrera, RHP Colin Rea, RHP (if they pick up his option) Javier Assad, RHP … Jordan Wicks? Jaxon Wiggins?Bleak, bleak stuff. That is not a big league rotation. And while they’ll surely try to add a starter in free agency (and hopefully even one this deadline with multiple years of control), the need for more starting pitching is EXTREME.
But Ben Brown is 26 years old and not even arbitration-eligible until next season. He’s also not a free agent until 2031. If you can add him – credibly – into the rotation mix, the pressure to add there is relieved significantly. And that can also allow the Cubs to use whatever prospect or cash capital they didn’t spend on ANOTHER pitcher elsewhere on the roster … to say nothing of the fact that it would be good to have another good pitcher.
So, yeah, I’m getting a little ahead of myself here after two 4.0 inning starts, but the way Ben Brown did it and the fact that it was two good, left-handed heavy teams on the road is getting me very excited. The Cubs may have found something here, and it can be critically important to the medium term health of this organization.
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