Chicago Cubs: Why this starter needs a 3rd pitch in his arsenal to succeed

The Chicago Cubs were beaten yesterday when the Philadelphia Phillies scored 10 runs, six of which came off yesterday’s starter, Ben Brown, who did not have his best stuff. Brown has not been great in his past two outings where he’s failed to reach the fifth inning and has given up seven earned runs.

Brown’s failure to go deep into ballgames has been a topic of conversation for the Cubs, and it needs to be corrected so they don’t overtax their bullpen. Brown can be a great middle-of-the-rotation starter if he can incorporate a third pitch, which after yesterday’s loss shows more than ever that he needs to add a third pitch to his arsenal.

Brown needs a third pitch to help the Chicago Cubs win

It is starting to show that Brown can’t be a two-pitch pitcher if he wants to continue being a starter for this ball club. His four-seam fastball and knuckle curveball are two-plus pitches and have swing-and-miss ability, but if hitters are only sitting on those two pitches, then their success of getting a hit off of him increases as their chances are 50-50.

Brown has used his fastball 57.1% of the time and has thrown 276 four-seamers. He has thrown his knuckle curve 40.4% of the time and has been relied on to get most of his strikeouts, getting 20 with the pitch so far.

Brown does have a changeup in his arsenal, but he rarely uses it and has only thrown it 12 times this season. He did throw one changeup in yesterday’s loss to the Phillies, but it was nowhere near the strike zone and was not a competitive pitch.

The FOX Broadcast Team, in particular former pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and World Series winner Adam Wainwright, stated that Brown needs a changeup or at the very least “a slower pitch”, so he can give hitters something else to think about. Whatever the third pitch Brown decides to add and refine doesn’t have to be a plus pitch like his fastball and curve, but something that at least gets them off the scent of his strikeout pitches.

Brown adding a third pitch will help him go deeper into games

If Brown is to go deeper into ballgames and be a more effective starter, then adding a third pitch to his arsenal is needed. The bugaboo for Brown has come in the fourth inning when he goes through the lineup for a second time, as he has a 19.29 ERA in the fourth inning.

Brown’s ERA in the fourth inning is a stark difference from the 1.80 ERA he has in the third inning, which can be attributed to not having a third pitch. He has shown the ability to get by with just the two pitches for the first time through the order, but once they see him for a second or even a third time, having something different to offer them will help get him to get over the hill.

The other aspect of Brown’s game that needs to be cleaned up is walking batters. This season Brown has 14 walks in 25.1 innings, which comes to 5.0 walks per nine innings and a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.21.

If Brown lowers the walks it should help him get into the fifth or sixth innings more. Browns’ next start for the Cubs should come when they play the San Francisco Giants on May 6. Hopefully, during his bullpen and side sessions before then, he can start mixing in his changeup more and get a better feel for it.