Ben Brown: the solution to the cubs bullpen?
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The bullpen is a major piece in what has become the downward spiral of the Chicago Cubs ever since their sweep of the Oakland As in mid April, where they started 11-6 and have since gone 16-29.
They have the 3rd highest bullpen ERA in the National League (NL), 6th highest overall at 4.62. They have the least amount of saves in the NL at 8, 2nd lowest overall, with only the Oakland As having less at 5.
There are two main reasons for the bullpen struggle. One, the lack of defined roles. Sure, Javier Assad is being used for long multi-inning relief and Adbert Alzolay is being used for high leverage situations, but even with those, the roles are incredibly loose. For a while, it seemed as though Mark Leiter Jr. was going to be the closer, but in the game against the Angels on June 7, Leiter came in the 6th inning and gave up 2 runs. The constantly changing roles can work, but the key to a successful bullpen is for some of these players to have at least some idea when they will be pitching.
Two, the small circle of trust. It is clear that manager David Ross only really trusts Alzolay, Leiter, and Julian Merryweather, in any type of high leverage, close game situation. This is fair because it seems to have been proven time and time again that none of the other pitchers can rise to the occasion. However, Ross has been basically using these three pitchers in almost every game, which ends up tiring them out and then the exact type of situation they are trusted for, ends up getting blown.
Photo Courtesy of Tony Andracki|Marquee Sports Network (Getty Images)
A possible solution to these issues: Ben Brown, a 23-year-old righty acquired from the David Robertson trade to the Phillies last year. Brown posts a 2.63 ERA and when he was pitching in AA at the start of the season, it was 0.45. Batters are hitting a mere .198 against him. Now if he were to bring that type of pitching to the big leagues, he would have the second lowest bullpen ERA, right after Alzolay, and the second lowest opponent batting average, after Leiter, both of whom are part of that magical David Ross circle of trust.
Currently, Brown is a starter, but to add a bit more depth and strength, he could come out of the bullpen, similar to what they did with Justin Steele in 2021, something that turned out pretty great for Steele. This move doesn’t have to stop Brown’s development as a starter, but work to build up his arsenal, so that when he is ready to start, he has the skills to manage big league hitters, which many starting pitchers coming from the minors have struggled with.
A bullpen spot for Brown could work to help his development on the big league level, without the strength and stamina required of a starter, but also help the Cubs get a bullpen guy that can be added to the circle of trust.
