We’ve seen some images of young Cubs righty Ben Brown throwing out in Arizona in advance of Spring Training, and we knew he had been cleared for a normal offseason after missing the second half of 2024 with a neck issue. But now we’ve also got an eyes-on report from Super Scout Justin Steele.
Steele, who spoke on the latest episode of North Side Territory about a range of topics, commented on what he’s seen from Brown in recent weeks:
โBen Brown โฆ that dudeโs a horse,โ Steele said. โHeโs in the weight room, doing the stuff that he would normally do. (We had) conversations when all that stuff was going on with his neck. When the player doesnโt really know what it is, it can affect you mentally. It makes you not want to do stuff because you donโt want to make it worse.
“Just to see him being the spring chicken that he is, doing the lifts, throwing with full effort, and having that personality that he always had, itโs just fun being around him. Watching him throw his bullpens and go through his work, you know the guy is going to be a stud if he gets a full season under his belt.”
Horse, spring chicken, stud. Pick your metaphorical beast, and that’s how Steele would describe Brown right now.
As he showed last year, Brown’s talent is immense, and he pretty clearly has the stuff to be a mid-rotation starter in the big leagues despite working with pretty much only two pitches (not unlike Steele!). After a rough relief debut in the opening series in Texas, Brown made 14 appearances between the rotation and long relief before the neck injury ended his season, throwing 53.2 innings of 2.68 ERA ball, with peripherals to match. The 24/25-year-old looked like he belonged in the big leagues, in one role or another.
The specifics on that role remain to be seen, both because of his own ability and because of whatever the Cubs’ need is throughout the year. My guess is that Brown will pitch important innings for the big league Cubs this season, likely out of the bullpen AND out of the rotation. Just keep him healthy this year.