Roster Move: Cubs place Justin Steele on 15-day IL, recall top pitching prospect |
ARLINGTON, Texas – The Chicago Cubs today placed left-handed pitcher Justin Steele on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to March 29) with a left hamstring strain and recalled right-handed pitcher Ben Brown from Triple-A Iowa.
Brown, 24, appeared in five Spring Training games (two starts) for the Cubs in 2024, going 1-0 with a 0.64 ERA (1 ER/14.0 IP) and 12 strikeouts. Last season, the righthander went 6-8 with a 5.33 ERA (43 ER/72.2 IP) and 100 strikeouts, good for a 31.1-percent strikeout rate, in 22 games (15 starts) with Triple-A Iowa. Brown opened the 2023 campaign with Double-A Tennessee, allowing just one earned run, 13 hits and striking out 30 batters in 20.0 innings of work over four starts before being promoted to the I-Cubs. The six-foot six-inch Brown made his professional debut in 2017 with the Rookie Level Gulf Coast League Phillies. He is 19-17 with one complete game, a 3.67 ERA (121 ER/297.0), 1.28 WHIP and a 3.01 strikeouts per walk rate (391 SO/130 BB) in 82 minor league games, including 56 starts with the Phillies (2017-2022) and Cubs organizations. Selected by the Phillies in the 33rd round of the 2017 draft out of Ward Melville High School in East Setauket, N.Y., Brown was acquired by the Cubs on August 2, 2022, for right-handed pitcher David Robertson. Steele, 28, had thrown 4.2 innings, allowing one run on three hits and one walk with six strikeouts before departing Thursday’s game with the hamstring ailment. The Chicago Cubs are calling up right-handed pitching prospect Ben Brown, according to sources familiar with the situation. Brown is rated as the Cubs’ No. 10 prospect by @MLBPipeline. The #Cubs are calling up 24 year old Ben Brown, who is currently the cubs #6 prospect 🚨🚨 The #Cubs today placed LHP Justin Steele on the 15-day IL (retroactive to March 29) with a left hamstring strain and recalled RHP Ben Brown from @IowaCubs. pic.twitter.com/oF7hgcaPyV Ben Brown is headed to Chicago! pic.twitter.com/g1AUVL7FgX Ben Brown is wearing No. 32 in honor of Roy Halladay, who he loved to watch pitch and got to know him when Halladay worked with Phillies minor leaguers as a mental skills coach. Ben Brown is an aggressive, and frankly exciting, call-up by the Cubs. Highest ceiling of any possibility on the 40 man. Winning these games early matters.
2023 stats AAA:
-8-8 WL
-4.27 ERA
-130 SO
-1.40 WHIP
-6’6 - Touches 97MPH
-March 11, 4 perfect innings in spring training
Let’s see what the kid can do?! pic.twitter.com/pfDglTxw6M
I like it a lot.
