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By Jackson Roberts
Contributing Sports Writer
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After an offseason highlighted by two major acquisitions, the Chicago Cubs appear locked and loaded for a run at a National League Central title.
The Cubs had a great offense last season, and adding Alex Bregman at third base should only help on that side of the ball. But the starting rotation was a pain point at times, and the trade for talented ex-Miami Marlins starter Edward Cabrera can only help so much.
Chicago will be counting on some of its starters who haven't necessarily performed well in the past couple of seasons to take steps forward. And one team insider labeled a pitcher who put up negative-1.6 bWAR last season as a surprise breakout candidate.
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On Wednesday, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com named 26-year-old right-hander Ben Brown as his response to a reader question about a breakout player "who is on nobody's radar right now."
"One player who has sort of fallen out of the main conversation around the Cubs' pitching is Ben Brown," wrote Bastian. "The current state of the rotation has him as a potential odd man out, but I could see him getting a look as a reliever similar to the second half last year.
"When Brown is on, he is dominant. Maybe he begins the year at Triple-A Iowa in the name of maintaining depth, but I still think he could be an impact arm."
To emphasize that the Cubs still believe Brown can be an impact member of the rotation, Bastian also included a blurb from Chicago pitching coach Tommy Hottovy.
"For me, I 100% see him as a starter," Hottovy told Bastian. "He’s got the upside to be a really good power pitcher in the back end of the bullpen, but you don’t want to just crown that. You want that to kind of happen."
Brown pitched to a 5.92 ERA in 106 1/3 innings last season, but he racked up 121 strikeouts. We've also seen him throw seven no-hit innings on the road against the rival Milwaukee Brewers, which happened in May 2024.
It's impossible to guarantee a breakout from a pitcher who likely won't be in the rotation to begin the season, but perhaps Cubs fans should buy a bit of Brown stock while they still can.
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