Ben Brown has surprisingly been the Cubs’ best pitcher. Is All-Star Game next?

No one would have predicted Ben Brown would be the Cubs’ best pitcher two months into a championship-or-bust season.Brown landing in the All-Star Game after a woeful 2025 campaign would have been an even more outrageous prediction.But here the Cubs stand in early June, and Brown is the most obvious candidate to represent the club at the Midsummer Classic.“Just to think about the arc of the last two months,” Brown said Tuesday, “to see that would be crazy.”The 26-year-old righty struggled last season, with a 5.92 ERA. Today, after vaulting from his season-opening bullpen job into the rotation, his 2026 ERA is a full 4.00 points lower, at 1.92. That number leads the Cubs’ staff and, coming into Thursday, ranked sixth in baseball among pitchers with at least 50 innings pitched.“I was looking over my shoulder a lot last year, especially at this time,” Brown said. “At that point, I didn’t think it was going to get any better. And I wish I could have told myself that I was really close to getting better.”The Cubs credit Brown’s expanded arsenal, now featuring a changeup and sinker after only boasting a fastball and a curveball in the past. Being more unpredictable to opposing hitters has turned Brown from a pitcher who gave up 18 home runs in 106 1/3 innings last season into a pitcher who’s dominated the competition.He gave up a homer to the first batter he faced this season but hasn’t allowed a ball to leave the yard since.“I’m…

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