Ben Brown’s – Ben Brown, once struggling in 2025, has become the Cubs’ most dependable starter in early June—cutting his ERA to 1.92 and adding a broader pitch mix. Injuries have battered the Cubs’ rotation, and with the offense stuck in a slump, Brown’s turnaround has turn
No one would have predicted Ben Brown would be the Cubs’ best pitcher two months into a championship-or-bust season.
Two months ago, a woeful 2025 campaign still hung over him. Now, in early June, Brown is the most obvious candidate for the club at the Midsummer Classic. “Just to think about the arc of the last two months,” Brown said Tuesday, “to see that would be crazy.”
Brown is 26, and last season he struggled with a 5.92 ERA. This year, after vaulting from a season-opening bullpen job into the rotation, his 2026 ERA is a full 4.00 points lower at 1.92. That mark leads the Cubs’ staff. and—coming into Thursday—ranked sixth in baseball among pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched.
Brown’s turnaround has also come with a mental shift. “I was looking over my shoulder a lot last year, especially at this time,” Brown said. “At that point, I didn’t think it was going to get any better. And I wish I could have told myself that I was really close to getting better.”
Part of what changed is what hitters are seeing. The Cubs have credited Brown’s expanded arsenal. now featuring a changeup and sinker after he previously only boasted a fastball and a curveball. With more ways to keep batters off balance. Brown has gone from a pitcher who surrendered 18 home runs in 106 1/3 innings in 2025 to one who has dominated the competition.
He even started this season the wrong way—giving up a homer to the first batter he faced—but he hasn’t allowed a ball to leave the yard since.
Teammates have watched the work pay off up close. Shortstop Dansby Swanson said, “I’m so happy for him. He cares a lot, cares about the right things. He’s such an unbelievable guy and teammate. Just seeing his evolution. the pitch mix and having him dedicate himself to his craft. to learn things. be willing to try things and have the confidence to go do them. has been awesome.”.
Righty pitcher Colin Rea added, “His talent level is top-top-notch. His arm is super fast. He’s super aggressive, and he comes right after you. It’s exciting to see the results get to where they should be with how good his stuff is. He’s a horse, too. He’s super strong.”
All-Star talk may be the fun storyline. but the Cubs need Brown to keep pitching like this. because the season hasn’t been kind to the rotation. Injuries have hit hard: Cade Horton is lost for the season. and Matthew Boyd has spent a month on the injured list. Jameson Taillon and Shota Imanaga have struggled. In that environment, Brown’s emergence has become even more magnified.
The offense hasn’t been helping, either. The team has been trapped in a team-wide funk, which is part of why the All-Star chatter has started to sound plausible even with plenty of star power still on the roster.
There’s also a built-in storybook symmetry to the moment. More than a month remains until the All Stars assemble in Philadelphia, and Brown had expected his early big league games to be there after being drafted by the Phillies in 2017. Five years later, he arrived in Chicago in a deadline deal.
Catching him brings that full circle back to one familiar face. Miguel Amaya, the catcher, said, “When he got traded from the Phillies, I was in Double-A. I met him his first day. I caught his first bullpen in the Chicago Cubs organization.”
Amaya said it’s “pretty cool and fun catching him here in the big leagues. ” and he pointed to what it would mean to share the moment. “It would be really cool [to see Brown make the All-Star team], especially me being part of his outings. Going out there and working together, it means a lot to me. I’m proud of him for all the success he’s having so far.”.
Brown may have pulled the Cubs into All-Star conversations. but the deadline for making it there isn’t close enough to ignore what comes next. We’ll see whether his emergence—paired with the Cubs’ early-summer stumbling—turns him into the club’s lone All Star. or whether he keeps pitching well enough to get to the game at all.
For the Cubs, the bigger goal is October, not July. They’re excited about what Brown can do for them come October. Still, the idea of Brown standing alongside Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge on baseball’s biggest in-season stage feels remarkable—almost surreal.
Rea summed up the immediate feeling around the staff: “It would be awesome to see him in the All-Star Game. I don’t see him slowing down any time soon.”
Ben Brown Chicago Cubs All-Star Game Philadelphia 2026 ERA rotation injuries Dansby Swanson Colin Rea Miguel Amaya