Chicago Cubs ace Shota Imanaga is finally throwing again, a promising sign for an organization looking to get its top arm back.
Imanaga, one of the better left-handed starters in Major League Baseball, has been out with a hamstring injury after appearing in just 44.2 innings. He last pitched on May 4 and was throwing to the likes of a 2.82 ERA, continuing to show his dominance after making his debut last season.
The Cubs have dealt with multiple injuries on the mound, but there will have to be some decisions to be made when Imanaga returns.
Chicago will have to decide what it wants to do with its rotation, and in a recent prediction, it saw the Cubs part ways with one of their youngsters. The Daily Herald predicted that Ben Brown, a 25-year-old right-hander, could be the odd man out.
“Horton has been more consistent in his MLB debut. The worst of his seven outings was 4 earned runs in Detroit, followed by his best performance, nearly six scoreless innings against Paul Skenes and the Pirates last Friday.
“Best suggestion: Send Brown to Iowa with the hope he learns to be more consistent, then it's possible he and Horton change places at some point,” The Herald wrote.
Brown has shown some signs throughout his professional career, but hasn't exactly lived up to the hype in Major League Baseball. He owns a 5.57 ERA this season, but his strikeout numbers have been decent, striking out 83 hitters in 69.1 innings.
Sending him to Triple-A might not be the worst idea, but the Cubs also need to give him a chance to learn the ropes in the show. If not, they can't expect him to improve much.
