MESA, Ariz. — It was just two innings in a Cactus League game, and in one of them, Ben Brown gave up a towering home run to Brewers slugger Rowdy Tellez. The Cubs view Brown, a slender, 6-foot-6 right-hander, as more of a project for their pitching infrastructure than someone who will help their major-league club right away. But after Brown faded a 91 mph changeup past top prospect Sal Frelick, Brewers broadcaster Vinny Rottino couldn’t help but be impressed.
Advertisement
“How nasty does this guy look?” Rottino said right before Brown completed Tuesday’s outing in Phoenix.
The Cubs did their homework before acquiring Brown from the Phillies in last summer’s David Robertson trade, but it takes time and buy-in to implement any of those ideas. Until a breakout performance at Philadelphia’s High-A affiliate, Brown had largely stayed off the prospect radar as a 33rd-round draft pick who required Tommy John surgery early in his professional career. That changeup is part of a very specific plan to expand Brown’s arsenal, which was heavily curveball and four-seam fastball, in order to make him a more legitimate starting pitching prospect. So far, the change is standing out in his eyes and apparently from the TV booth.
“The changeup has felt comfortable from the start,” Brown said. “It’s been really cool having more than two pitches. I feel like we’re in a pretty good spot with that. I’m confident that I’ll be convicted in all four of those pitches.”
Brown leaned on his curveball during those two innings against the Brewers, exhibiting the sharp downward action that has the potential to consistently fool hitters. His fastball also looks like a plus pitch that usually works well up in the strike zone. The location of that pitch actually was a mistake against Tellez, who feasts on high heat, but that’s all part of the learning process. Brown is a student of the game who took an active role in designing his offseason program, presenting his strengths and working with the team on the next steps in his development.
“I said I love my curveball and I don’t want to change it and they agreed with it,” Brown said. “They said they won’t change that. It’s my pitch, my confidence pitch, so they said they’ll leave that and my heater. Maybe there were some things they could optimize with how I use my body and some little tweaks with the fastball, but we’re leaving those pitches alone.”
Advertisement
Separating Brown’s breaking balls was another concept the Cubs focused on as they executed the Robertson trade and tried to create a new wave of pitching prospects. So, yes, he’s working on a sweeping slider to pair with that sharp curveball. He didn’t throw the slider against the Brewers, but he expects to use it in an exhibition game soon enough. He said for now it’s “the problem child” as there has been growth, but the pitch is inconsistent when he throws it during bullpen sessions. However, he believes he’s not far off, as he knows what he needs to do to get the pitch where he and the coaching staff want it.
“Letting it be free through the zone and throwing it with full confidence,” Brown said. “It’s a pitch I’ve never really thrown before. The changeup is something I’ve thrown since high school, so it’s something I’ve kind of been used to. But throwing the new slider, I just have to trust it at this point. It’s gaining that trust that will come with throwing it in bullpens more consistently. I’m really excited to see it in games.”
As Brown said, the Cubs are mostly leaving the fastball alone, but the early results from camp suggest that the desire to “optimize” the pitch was successful. In live batting practice, Brown has impressed the coaches and executives who have watched him throw. According to those who have kept tabs on his live BPs, at one point earlier in February, his velocity was already touching the upper 90s. He credits that to the fact that he’s added some muscle and made very slight delivery tweaks, shortening his arm action with the help of minor-league pitching development coordinator Casey Jacobson.
From afar, Brown watched the Phillies advance through the postseason, keeping tabs on the young role players he knew from Philadelphia’s farm system more than the big-name stars: “It’s go time with the Cubs now, but for a little bit last year I was able to root for my friends to maybe get themselves a World Series ring.” As the Cubs try to go from sellers to buyers at the trade deadline — seeing pitching and defense as their fastest way to get back into playoff contention — they will need prospects like Brown to pop.
“I’m just grateful to be a Cub,” Brown said. “I’ve never had more people at the same time trying to get me to the big leagues. It’s a collective effort, and everyone’s just putting everything they’ve got into my career. I’m so incredibly grateful.”
Cubs manager David Ross has seen the MLB Network bit — “Cut of Jib Index” — and loosely agrees with the shorthand idea that grit, composure and baseball IQ matter in a way that cannot be fully quantified. Texas swagger alone won’t make Hayden Wesneski the No. 5 starter in the Opening Day rotation. There could be other reasons to go with Adrian Sampson or Javier Assad in April while managing Wesneski’s workload at Triple-A Iowa to maximize his impact across a 162-game season. But there’s no denying that Wesneski has electric stuff, an energetic presence on the mound and an openness to the data and game-planning systems that the Cubs expect their pitchers to utilize.
Advertisement
“Hayden is a hard worker who’s very smart about knowing the information and knowing what he does well,” Ross said. “He likes to compete. He’s not afraid of the moment and knows that he belongs. But he also has a way about him that he’s not like, ‘I’m the fifth starter.’ He knows that this is a process. It’s a very veteran approach, the way he works and knows his body. He’s definitely got that ‘it factor’ where it doesn’t feel like things speed up on him.”
Brian Kenny explains his "Cut of Jib Index" and the #MLBNow crew weighs in on who is high and low on that index 👀 @Joelsherman1 pic.twitter.com/TxWE3tKoCz
— MLB Now (@MLBNow) August 26, 2022
The Cubs showed confidence in their pitching department when they traded sidearm reliever Scott Effross to the Yankees for Wesneski, a Triple-A starter who made his major-league debut in September and put up a 2.18 ERA with 33 strikeouts in 33 innings. Wesneski threw two scoreless innings during Wednesday’s Cactus League start in Mesa, striking out four of the eight batters he faced, including Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez. Wesneski is one of those wild cards as the Cubs try to outperform expectations this year.
“Yes, it’s a little different than the Yankees, but there’s a culture here that’s set,” Wesneski said. “I don’t have to shave my face, but I do anyway, right? It helps that the fans love it, too. It says something. There’s an appreciation for baseball here with the Cubs. Don’t take that for granted because there’s a lot of places out there that really don’t get as much love as Chicago.”
To clarify some confusion on social media: Alexander Canario has not been cleared to resume baseball activities, according to a source familiar with his rehab program, and the Cubs are hesitant about any timelines after the outfielder suffered two injuries on a freak play in the Dominican Winter League. Those issues — a fractured ankle and a dislocated shoulder — essentially removed Canario’s name from offseason trade discussions and the depth chart for spring training.
If healthy — and that qualifier goes for any young player — Canario would’ve been an intriguing player to watch while Seiya Suzuki recovers from an oblique injury. Not that Canario would’ve been the next man up, but he’s been on the 40-man roster since the Cubs acquired him from the Giants in the Kris Bryant deal at the 2021 trade deadline, and his stock had risen with the numbers (37 homers, 97 RBIs, .899 OPS) he posted last year at three minor-league affiliates. Seeing Canario in action again — and figuring out what they have in Brennen Davis and Pete Crow-Armstrong — will be particularly important for the Cubs as Ian Happ and Cody Bellinger are in position to become free agents after this season.
(Top photo of Ben Brown: Morry Gash / Associated Press)