Cubs Place Top Pitching Prospect on Injured List

Following the trade deadline, some Cubs fans were looking forward to the possibility that right-handed pitcher Ben Brown would get called up in September and be used out of the bullpen. Well, those thoughts are now on hold as Brown, who some consider the top pitching prospect in a deep Cubs farm system, has been placed on the injured list.

Brown last pitched for the Iowa Cubs at Triple-A on Sunday.

The Cubs were aggressive at the trade deadline to fill their biggest need on offense, making a deal with the Washington Nationals for switch-hitting corner infielder Jeimer Candelario. However, the team did not add an established pitcher to the bullpen, despite the rumor mill running wild, leading up to the Tuesday deadline. Because of that, Brown, who is already on the team’s 40-man roster, was seen as a potential option to be called up and used as a reliever in the stretch run if the Cubs needed a boost in the bullpen.

Brown began the 2023 season at Double-A, but he was quickly promoted to the next level after four dominant starts with the Tennessee Smokies in April. The hard-throwing starter struck out 30 and walked six in 20 innings at Double-A, doing more than enough to earn a promotion to the Iowa Cubs.

While Brown has shown his filthy repertoire at Triple-A, he has struggled with high walk totals since he made up to that level in May. Last year, Brown averaged more than three walks per nine innings at Double-A after the Cubs acquired him from the Philadelphia Phillies for relief pitcher David Robertson. In 15 starts with the Iowa Cubs this year, Brown is up to more than five walks per nine innings.

However, the stuff is MLB-caliber and Brown’s overall numbers have only taken a hit because of three bad starts at Triple-A. This guy is going to have a future in the big leagues.

Now, as bad as a pitcher going to the injured list seems, there is a scenario in which this isn’t a big deal after all.

In 2022, Brown logged 104 innings in the minor leagues between the Phillies and Cubs systems. That total was a career high for him. So, maybe the Cubs are simply saving Brown because they still do plan on bringing him up in September and hopefully into October.

So far in 2023, Brown has made 19 starts and tossed 85 innings. The righty has a combined 3.81 ERA, with 120 strikeouts between Double-A and Triple-A.

We’ll see if there are any more updates, but unfortunately minor leagues teams aren’t known to give out many details on players when they go on the injured list.