Cubs are leaving no stone unturned in their quest to get Ben Brown back on track

After shuffling the starting rotation for this weekend's series against the Cincinnati Reds, the Chicago Cubs have another surprise up their sleeves, tapping left-handed reliever Drew Pomeranz as the opener on Saturday afternoon, starting the game in place of right-hander Ben Brown.

Can Drew Pomeranz help Ben Brown settle back in heading into June?

Brown was shelled in his last two starts (9 IP, 14 ER) and the logic here is taking care of an inning that has really been a thorn for the right-hander. He has a 7.00 ERA in the first inning this year, so the hope is that by taking it off his plate, he can settle in and give some length to a rotation in dire need of more consistency.

Being primarily a two-pitch pitcher, he's run into trouble the third time through orders, too, so we'll see if this works the way the Cubs are hoping for. Long-term, he'll need to develop a third pitch to keep hitters off-balance because finding success as a starter with only two quality offerings is a long-shot, at best.

“My last outing, my average heater was over 96 miles an hour,” Brown said. “My average heater to the first three batters throwing strikes I was under 95 [mph]. So, I’m trying to throw as hard as I can, and I’m throwing it slower. And then when I can finally get comfortable and something goes my way, then you start seeing my stuff start to play.”

I openly wondered if Chris Flexen would start on Saturday before this announcement, but he came into the Cubs' 6-2 loss on Friday, all but removing him from that equation. As for Pomeranz, he makes sense given his career track record. He's worked as a starter and as a reliever (140 starts, 163 relief appearances), so there shouldn't be any issue with finding a pre-game routine in this role.

His work this year has been nothing short of exemplary, with Pomeranz carrying a 12 2/3 inning scoreless streak to start the year into Saturday's game. Pitching in the big leagues for the first time since 2021, this late-career renaissance is one of the best feel-good stories in the game. And if he can help Ben Brown get back on track, those warm fuzzy feelings will only grow.