Chicago Cubs Provide Hopeful Outlook on Injured Rising Star Pitcher

It sounds like the Chicago Cubs are expecting to get back one of their rising star pitchers.

Jun 8, 2024; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Ben Brown (32) pitches against the Cincinnati Reds in the first inning at Great American Ball Park / Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

During the first part of this past season, one of the rising stars for the Chicago Cubs was rookie pitcher Ben Brown.

Called up for his Major League debut on March 30 because their ace Justin Steele was placed on the injured list, the young right-hander was a jack of all trades coming out of the bullpen and starting games, doing whatever manager Craig Counsell needed from him.

His first career outing was a disaster, though. He allowed six earned runs in 1.2 innings pitched when called upon in relief, but after that, Brown was one of the team's best stories of the early portion of the year.

Unfortunately, right when he was hitting his stride when he posted a 2.11 ERA in April and a 1.16 ERA in May that included seven no-hit innings against the Milwaukee Brewers on May 28, he was placed on the injured list two outings later with pain in his neck.

Brown never appeared for the rest of the campaign.

There isn't a whole lot of information about his injury either, and it's pretty vague regarding what he dealt with and is dealing with since the "stress reaction" was misdiagnosed, but it's clear it was severe enough for him not to pitch again in 2024 after his last game was on June 8.

The good news is the Cubs are sharing some positives about his recovery.

"Mid-November, he's gonna have another scan just to clear everything, to see where he is, but he's progressing well. Our hope is that he has a no-restrictions offseason, but I don't think we'll know that for a couple of weeks," Jed Hoyer told Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network.

They're hoping everything comes back clean and he's part of their Opening Day rotation.

Brown finished with a 3.58 ERA across his 15 appearances and eight starts during his rookie campaign, but when diving into the numbers, he was much better than that.

Taking out his first career outing and the start after he was expected to have injured his neck, the 25-year-old had a 2.36 ERA across his 49.2 innings pitched.

That is excellent for a young pitcher who was utilized as a starter and reliever.

Going forward, the thought is Chicago will utilize him as a starter, especially since they are short on right-handers with Steele and Shota Imanaga being lefties at the top of their rotation.

What the scan reveals later this month will go a long way in making sure Brown is available for offseason workouts so he can be ready to take the next step in his career.