Ben Brown

Ben Brown

25-Year-Old PitcherSP
Chicago Cubs AAA
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Brown turned heads with his performance in spring training and pitched well for the Cubs during the regular season between the rotation and bullpen before a neck issue ended his campaign. It was found that he was dealing with a benign area of concern in his neck, but after a follow-up scan in November, he was cleared for a normal offseason. Brown is a 6-foot-6 righty who gets good extension and pulls the string on a knuckle curve to great effect. His knuckle curve had an absurd .134 xBA and 51 percent whiff rate last season. The lack of a third pitch could be an issue and the jury is still out as to whether he can make it as a starting pitcher. Brown was significantly better as a starter than as a reliever last season, which offers hope that he could snag one of the final rotation spots with a strong showing in camp. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#403
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Cubs in March of 2025.
May see smaller workload in minors
PChicago Cubs  AAA
June 26, 2025
Brown could see his workload reduced a bit at Triple-A Iowa as the Cubs seek to keep him fresh for an eventual return to the majors, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.
ANALYSIS
Brown is slated to still start games for the Iowa Cubs, though he could face an innings limit or potentially see some work in long relief. The team also wants the young righty to keep developing his changeup and improve his control, as he walked 27 batters in 79.1 innings for Chicago before his demotion. Brown has the stuff to make an impact again in the majors this season, though fantasy managers will likely need to be patient.
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Pitching Stats
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2025
2024
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2024 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
84
Last 10 Games
85
Last 5 Games
87
How many pitches does Ben Brown generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does Ben Brown generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2023
 
 
-13%
BAA vs RHP
2025
 
 
-10%
BAA vs RHP
2024
 
 
-22%
BAA vs RHP
2023
No Stats
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2023vs Left .276 285 80 26 70 10 1 13
Since 2023vs Right .241 296 75 20 65 11 3 5
2025vs Left .305 167 47 13 46 6 1 10
2025vs Right .273 192 44 14 48 6 3 3
2024vs Left .233 118 33 13 24 4 0 3
2024vs Right .181 104 31 6 17 5 0 2
2023vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2023
 
 
-17%
ERA at Home
2025
 
 
-22%
ERA at Home
2024
 
 
-22%
ERA at Home
2023
No Stats
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2023Home 4.53 1.42 53.2 1 4 0 12.2 3.7 0.8
Since 2023Away 5.44 1.30 81.0 4 5 0 9.1 2.7 1.4
2025Home 5.30 1.63 35.2 1 3 0 12.6 4.3 1.0
2025Away 6.80 1.44 43.2 3 3 0 8.5 2.1 1.9
2024Home 3.00 1.00 18.0 0 1 0 11.5 2.5 0.5
2024Away 3.86 1.13 37.1 1 2 0 9.9 3.4 1.0
2023Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Minor League Left/Right Pitching Splits (AAA)
Since 2023
 
 
-2%
BAA vs LHP
2025
No Stats
2024
No Stats
2023
 
 
-2%
BAA vs LHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2023vs Left .224 148 42 28 26 5 0 6
Since 2023vs Right .228 175 58 23 34 9 3 3
2025vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2025vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Left .224 148 42 28 26 5 0 6
2023vs Right .228 175 58 23 34 9 3 3
Stat Review
How does Ben Brown compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
3.37
 
K/9
10.3
 
BB/9
3.1
 
HR/9
1.5
 
Fastball
95.7 mph
 
ERA
6.13
 
WHIP
1.53
 
BABIP
.379
 
GB/FB
1.25
 
Left On Base
64.2%
 
Exit Velocity
84.4 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
6.6%
 
Spin Rate
2217 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
26.3%
 
Swinging Strike
13.1%
 
Prospect Rankings History
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2024
2023
Acquired from the Phillies for David Robertson in a 2022 deadline deal, Brown has dealt with a fair share of arm injuries in his career, but he was able to break through and make his MLB debut early in his age-24 season. He has a powerful arsenal and stands an intimidating 6-foot-6, but a 15.8 percent walk rate last year at Triple-A raised concerns about his control, even while accounting for the automated balls and strikes system that led to inflated walk rates for Triple-A pitchers last season. Brown leans heavily on his 97 mph four-seamer and upper-80s power curveball, with his changeup serving as a below-average, seldom-used third pitch. He's also capable of throwing an above-average slider, although he has shelved that pitch early in his big-league career. Brown has a high strikeout ceiling on a per-start basis, but he carries significant long-term durability risk and still needs to prove he has the command to start long term in the majors.
The Phillies sent Brown to the Cubs at the trade deadline in exchange for a couple months of David Robertson. It was a strong return for Chicago, as Brown has impactful stuff that should play well in relief at the very least. The 6-foot-6 righty has a plus curveball, above-average slider and mid-90s fastball, but his command and control were shaky at times, especially early last season. Over his final 19 outings, split across High-A and Double-A, Brown logged a 2.99 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 141:25 K:BB in 93.1 innings. With his power arsenal, Brown seems destined to either be a high-strikeout, mediocre-WHIP starting pitcher or a late-inning weapon. He is now on the 40-man roster, so it would make sense for him to reach the majors this summer in some role if he is pitching well in the upper minors.
More Fantasy News
Optioned to Triple-A
PChicago Cubs  AAA
June 24, 2025
The Cubs optioned Brown to Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
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Serves up four homers in defeat
PChicago Cubs  AAA
June 23, 2025
Brown (4-6) took the loss against St. Louis on Monday, allowing eight runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out three batters over five innings.
ANALYSIS
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Holds Brewers in check in win
PChicago Cubs  AAA
June 17, 2025
Brown (4-5) recorded the win Tuesday against the Brewers, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out five.
ANALYSIS
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Hit hard in Wednesday's loss
PChicago Cubs  AAA
June 11, 2025
Brown (3-5) took the loss Wednesday as the Cubs fell 7-2 to the Phillies, coughing up six runs on eight hits and three walks over 5.2 innings. He struck out five.
ANALYSIS
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Goes seven innings in loss
PChicago Cubs  AAA
June 6, 2025
Brown (3-4) took the loss against the Tigers on Friday, allowing two runs on seven hits and one walk with seven strikeouts over seven innings.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Opening for MLB debut?
PChicago Cubs  AAA
March 28, 2024
Justin Steele is headed for the injured list after suffering a strained hamstring Thursday, per Meghan Montemurro of the Chicago Tribune, and Brown could be in the mix to fill the vacant rotation spot.
ANALYSIS
The 24-year-old righty was optioned to Triple-A Iowa in early March and never seemed to have much of a chance to make the Cubs' Opening Day roster, but he pitched well during spring training with just one run allowed and a 12:5 K:BB across 14 innings. Brown struggled upon being promoted to Triple-A Iowa last season with a 5.33 ERA in 22 outings, but his spring success and standing as a top prospect could put him on the radar for early-season starts with Chicago's rotation depth being tested.
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