Ben Brown Fantasy Stats

Chicago Cubs right-hander Ben Brown has already been trending up in his transition to a starting role in Chicago, and he should be even more attractive in Week 9 of the fantasy baseball season while scheduled for a two-start week versus the division-rival Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals. The 26-year-old has slowly been building up his pitch count in a starting role after opening the 2026 season as a reliever for the Cubbies. In his last outing on May 19 in a loss to the division-rival Milwaukee Brewers, Brown allowed three earned runs on seven hits while walking two and striking out six in five innings of work. He has thrown at least four innings in each of his first three starts, dating back to May 8, and he's racked up 13 strikeouts in his last two appearances. Neither the Pirates nor the Cardinals are exactly excellent matchups for Brown as far as being a streamer, but he becomes more valuable in weekly formats because he's slated to start twice. Despite taking his first loss his last time out, Brown holds a strong 2.09 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and 40:12 K:BB in 38 2/3 innings this year, and he's only rostered in 39% of Yahoo leagues at the moment.

After opening the season in a bulk relief role, Chicago Cubs right-hander Ben Brown was moved into the starting rotation on May 8. The 26-year-old has impressed since the role shift, allowing just one hit while striking out 10 over eight innings of work (two starts). Brown's year-long numbers are excellent as well, as he's pitched to a 1.60 ERA and 0.86 WHIP with 34 strikeouts across 33 2/3 innings (14 games). Brown's 0.27 HR/9 is a significant improvement from the 1.52 HR/9 he posted in 2025, so he could be in line for some ERA regression as the weather heats up in Chicago and the ball starts to fly at Wrigley Field. Still, the hard-throwing right-hander owns a career MLB strikeout rate of 26.6% and appears to be finding his groove as a big-league pitcher. Now that he's back in the Cubs rotation, Brown offers some upside as a waiver-wire target for fantasy managers.

The Chicago Cubs have rewarded right-hander Ben Brown with another start, which will come on Thursday at Truist Park against the first-place Atlanta Braves and veteran lefty Chris Sale, per MLB.com. Brown, who is filling in for Chicago's banged-up starting rotation, earned a second start after tossing four shutout innings with no hits allowed, one walk, and three strikeouts in a no-decision against the Texas Rangers last Friday. On the year, the 26-year-old former 33rd-round pick by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2017 has been excellent for the Cubbies, recording a 1.82 ERA (2.65 FIP), 0.91 WHIP, one save, 27 strikeouts, and nine walks in 29 2/3 frames across 13 appearances (one start). Because Brown could stick around for the long term in Chicago's rotation, he's certainly worth a look off the waiver wire -- he's rostered in just 9% of Yahoo leagues. However, we wouldn't recommend starting him this week against a Braves team with the best OPS (.784) in the big leagues.

Chicago Cubs pitcher Ben Brown is scheduled to make the start against the Texas Rangers on Friday, according to Taylor McGregor. Given all the injuries to this pitching staff, Brown will need to move from his bullpen role and into the rotation. Brown has been excellent with a 2.10 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and a 24/8 K/BB ratio across 12 appearances in the bullpen this season. He has been fantastic in a multi-inning role, but the Cubs need him to step up into the rotation now. The right-hander has already pitched twice this week, so it seems unlikely that he'll pitch deep into Friday's game. He'll likely pitch a few innings, but probably won't stay in the game long enough to warrant looking at him as a streaming option.

Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Ben Brown is likely going to be the next man up for saves in Chicago. The Cubs are already without multiple key arms in the bullpen, and likely lost another on Thursday. Southpaw Caleb Thielbar (hamstring) was forced to make an early exit from Thursday's win over the Philadelphia Phillies. The team is calling it left hamstring tightness, so it's unclear if Thielbar will require a trip to the Injured List. Given all the injuries, Brown is likely going to be the next man up, assuming Thielbar misses time. Fantasy managers looking for a source of saves might want to consider adding Brown. The right-hander only has one career save, but certainly has the stuff on the mound to succeed as a closer.

Chicago Cubs right-hander Ben Brown will start Tuesday's game against the Toronto Blue Jays, according to Taylor McGregor of Marquee Sports Network. Brown's last outing came on August 4 against the Cincinnati Reds, and he worked four innings while allowing two hits and one earned run with five strikeouts. In 19 games (15 starts) for the Cubs this season, Brown is 5-7 with a 6.04 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and 104 strikeouts. The 25-year-old is an intriguing waiver-wire option because of his 25.4% strikeout rate, but Brown is also a persistent threat to cause harm in the ERA and WHIP categories.

The Chicago Cubs are expected to call up right-hander Ben Brown from Triple-A Iowa on Monday before their series opener versus the Kansas City Royals, per ESPN's Jesse Rogers. Brown could serve as Chicago's bulk reliever on Monday against KC after opener Ryan Brasier, who will likely only go one or two innings as the "opener." Jameson Taillon (calf) remains on the 15-day injured list for the Cubs, but it remains to be seen if the 25-year-old Brown will actually get any opening assignments before Taillon is back with the big-league squad. He was sent to the minors earlier this year after struggling to a 4-6 record, 6.13 ERA (4.10 FIP) and 1.52 WHIP, but he also had 91 strikeouts and 27 walks in 79 1/3 innings over his 16 outings (14 starts). For his strikeout upside alone, Brown might be worth a waiver pickup in NL-only formats.

The Chicago Cubs optioned right-hander Ben Brown to Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday and reinstated right-hander Porter Hodge (hip) from the 15-day injured list in a corresponding move. Brown surrendered eight runs in his five innings of work in Monday's loss to the St. Louis Cardinals and will now head to the minors to make room for the pending return of left-hander Shota Imanaga (hamstring) in Chicago's starting rotation. The 25-year-old former 33rd-round pick by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2017 has intriguing strikeout upside (90 K's in 79 1/3 innings over his 16 outings this year), but he has been extremely inconsistent and hittable at times. Brown heads to the farm with a 4-6 record, 6.13 ERA (4.08 FIP) and 1.52 WHIP in his second big-league season. Hodge should eventually return to high-leverage setup role in front of closer Daniel Palencia, making him worth a look in holds leagues.

Chicago Cubs right-handed pitcher Ben Brown is expected to serve as the bulk reliever during their contest on Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds. Drew Pomeranz is slated to open the game, but he is only expected to pitch one inning of work. Throughout the opening months of the season, Brown has been deployed primarily out of the rotation and has had mixed results. This afternoon, he will remain the primary option but will pitch out of the bullpen. Through 50 2/3 innings of work this season, Brown has held a 6.39 ERA with a 1.60 WHIP. Across this stint, Brown has struck out 64 batters and posted a solid 7.7% walk rate. However, he has generated a high 9.3% barrel rate with a hefty 45.7% hard-hit rate. This afternoon, Brown is best to fade in DFS given his inconsistent start to the season.

Chicago Cubs right-hander Ben Brown will open the 2025 season as the team's fifth starter, according to The Athletic's Sahadev Sharma. Brown will be afforded a rotation spot to open the season after Javier Assad (oblique) was injured in spring training. The 25-year-old appeared in relief in the season opener in Tokyo, Japan, last week against the Los Angeles Dodgers and was hit with a loss after giving up three runs (two earned) over 2 2/3 innings. Brown didn't fare too well in spring training, either, posting a 6.75 ERA with 13 hits allowed (one homer), one walk and nine strikeouts in eight innings over three Cactus League outings (two starts). He held his own in his rookie season in 2024 with a 3.58 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 64:19 K:BB in 15 outings (eight starts) before a neck injury cut his season short. There's some intriguing swing and miss to Brown's arsenal, particularly his knuckle-curve, making him worth a dart throw in deep-mixed leagues for depth.