It was always clear, from the time the Cubs acquired Ben Brown from the Phillies in 2022 for David Robertson, that he had talent.
He’d dominate at a Cubs minor league affiliate, get called up and have some great outings, but then occasionally get hit hard. That was especially true in 2025, when Brown made 25 appearances for the Cubs (15 starts) and posted a 5.92 ERA, 1.439 WHIP and allowed 18 home runs in 106.1 innings.
He’d done somewhat better as a starter than as a reliever in 2024, but that was
reversed last year, though his numbers weren’t really that good in either role.
It was said by me — and others — that if Brown were ever to become a top quality starting pitcher in MLB, he’d have to develop another pitch. Before this year, Brown threw almost exclusively a four-seamer and what was termed a “knuckle curve.” Here’s his pitch mix from 2025, a total of 1,759 pitches thrown:
That’s 95.5 percent of his pitches either being the four-seam fastball or curveball. Those were effective pitches, no doubt about it, but in my view — and the view of others — that’s a reliever’s arsenal.
Over the winter, Brown trained with Mets starter Clay Holmes in a facility in Nashville. Here’s how Brown developed a two-seamer to go with the rest of his arsenal:
Holmes helped Brown find a two-seam grip that worked. Brown’s goal, as relayed to FanGraphs’ David Laurila, was to get a “good distinction” between his four-seamer and two-seamer. He’s certainly done that.
Look at the difference in how he approached different hitters. This is 2025:
And this is 2026:
His curveball use is about the same year-to-year, but he’s reduced the four-seamer quite a bit, mostly replaced by the new two-seam fastball (or “sinker” as it’s sometimes termed).
Here are some recent examples.
This is a strikeout of the Pirates’ Konnor Griffin on a four-seamer [VIDEO].
Here’s a strikeout of Jackson Chourio on a two-seamer (sinker) [VIDEO].
The four-seamer went 97 miles per hour. The sinker was at 98. The pitching motion is basically the same — but look at the movement on the sinker. Chourio had no chance.
That’s the difference for Brown this year, I think. You can see that also in these two charts, the first from last year:
Now look at Brown’s movement chart from 2026 (to date):
You can see how the two-seamer increases Brown’s command of the strike zone. His K rate is down a bit this year, but so is his walk rate, and of course there’s the amazing stat of him not allowing a home run after Jacob Young of the Nats, the first batter to face him this year, took him deep. That’s 57 innings and 219 batters faced without allowing a homer. That’s just damn impressive.
That has led to these differences in Brown’s rankings in various categories. Last year, not very good:
This year, near the top in almost every category:
Congratulations to Ben Brown on his success, which in my view is absolutely because he put in the work to add to his pitch mix. At some point, the league might adjust to him and he’ll have to adjust back. But this success should build his confidence to the point that he can do that.
Maybe the Cubs just found the ace they needed. Pretty good stuff for a 33rd-round draft pick.
