Brown (5-7) earned the win Sunday against the White Sox, allowing one run on three hits and no walks with four strikeouts over five innings.

EDGE Analysis

The only blemish on Brown's short, 57-pitch outing was an Andrew Benintendi solo shot in the opening frame. Otherwise, the 25-year-old right-hander steamrolled through the Chicago lineup with his fastball touching 97.9 mph while averaging 96.2 mph (up slightly from his season mark of 95.8 mph). Brown now owns a 6.22 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 99:27 K:BB across 88.1 total frames. His future role with the big-league club is unknown as Jameson Taillon (calf) threw a 47-pitch bullpen session Friday and is slated for an early August return. If Brown sticks in the rotation, his next turn currently lines up to come against Baltimore at home next weekend.

Brown will start for the Cubs on Sunday versus the White Sox, Andy Martinez of Marquee Sports Network reports.

EDGE Analysis

Brown returned from a nearly month-long stint in the minors July 21 and gave up seven runs (six earned) over four innings in long relief one day later against Kansas City. Despite that rough outing, the Cubs are giving the right-hander another opportunity to start, though it may not be a permanent move back into the rotation since Jameson Taillon (calf) is on track to return from the injured list in the first half of August. Brown has posted an impressive 10.3 K/9 across 83.1 innings spanning 17 appearances (14 starts) on the campaign, but the rest of his numbers have been mostly poor, including a 6.48 ERA, 1.54 WHIP and 4-7 record.

Brown (4-7) took the loss against Kansas City on Monday, allowing seven runs (six earned) on seven hits and no walks while striking out four batters over four innings.

EDGE Analysis

After nearly a month in the minors, Brown was summoned back to the big club Monday to work in bulk relief behind opener Ryan Brasier. While Brown did manage to eat up four frames on 63 pitches, he wasn't very effective and was especially stung by the long ball -- he gave up a pair of homers to account for three of the runs against him. The right-hander has dazzled at times this season, including during a two-outing stretch in late May and early June during which he allowed two runs and posted a 16:2 K:BB over 13 frames, but that just makes his overall struggles more frustrating. Brown is at a 6.48 ERA and 1.54 WHIP across 83.1 innings on the season, and it remains to be seen how long he'll stick on the big-league roster after his latest poor appearance.

The Cubs recalled Brown from Triple-A Iowa on Monday, Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reports.

EDGE Analysis

Brown is a candidate to eat up some innings in a bulk relief role Monday versus the Royals behind opening pitcher Ryan Brasier. He's posted a 6.13 ERA in 14 starts and two relief appearances with the Cubs this season, though he's racked up 91 strikeouts across his 79.1 frames.

The Cubs are expected to recall Brown from Triple-A Iowa prior to Monday's game against the Royals, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Right-hander Ryan Brasier will open the game on the mound for Chicago, but he'll likely work just one or two innings before turning the game over to the bullpen. Rogers speculates that Brown could be tasked with covering multiple frames behind Brasier, though Chris Flexen is also available to work in bulk relief after having not pitched since making a four-inning start versus the Yankees on July 11. The Cubs will have a permanent opening in the rotation until Jameson Taillon (calf) returns from the injured list, but the team could look to the trade market to fill the void ahead of the July 31 deadline rather than counting on Brown to reclaim a starting role. In 16 outings (14 starts) with the Cubs this season, Brown owns a 6.13 ERA and 1.53 WHIP over 79.1 innings.

Brown could see his workload reduced a bit at Triple-A Iowa as the Cubs seek to keep him fresh for an eventual return to the majors, Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

Brown is slated to still start games for the Iowa Cubs, though he could face an innings limit or potentially see some work in long relief. The team also wants the young righty to keep developing his changeup and improve his control, as he walked 27 batters in 79.1 innings for Chicago before his demotion. Brown has the stuff to make an impact again in the majors this season, though fantasy managers will likely need to be patient.

The Cubs optioned Brown to Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday.

EDGE Analysis

The Cubs were going to need to clear a spot in the rotation for Shota Imanaga's (hamstring) return later this week, and Brown sealed his fate when he got rocked for eight runs over five innings in Monday's start versus the Cardinals. The righty has offered occasional flashes of brilliance, but they've come with rough patches as well, and Brown will carry a 6.13 ERA back to Iowa.

Brown (4-6) took the loss against St. Louis on Monday, allowing eight runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out three batters over five innings.

EDGE Analysis

Brown began his outing with three scoreless frames before serving up a two-run homer to Lars Nootbaar in the fourth. The right-handed hurler gave up two more long balls -- both of which were also two-run shots -- in the fifth, then served up another two-run blast before being pulled without retiring a batter in the sixth. Brown has struggled with consistency this season, giving up two or fewer runs in eight of his 16 outings but yielding five or more runs six times. Prior to Monday long balls hadn't been a big problem for him, as he'd given up zero or one homer in 14 of his 15 appearances and had posted a respectable 1.1 HR/9, so his fantasy managers have reason to hope that the barrage of home runs against him Monday was an aberration.

Brown (4-5) recorded the win Tuesday against the Brewers, giving up two runs on six hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out five.

EDGE Analysis

The long ball remained an issue for Brown, who gave up at least one home run in his third consecutive start, but he was able to limit the damage despite surrendering four extra-base hits. It was the third time in the 25-year-old right-hander's last three starts that he threw at least five innings while allowing two runs or fewer, which has helped improve his ERA to 5.57 to go with a 1.48 WHIP and 88:25 K:BB across 74.1 innings for the season. Brown has still conceded at least five runs on five occasions in 2025, so he'll likely remain a volatile fantasy option this weekend in a challenging test versus the Mariners.

Brown (3-5) took the loss Wednesday as the Cubs fell 7-2 to the Phillies, coughing up six runs on eight hits and three walks over 5.2 innings. He struck out five.

EDGE Analysis

Half of the hits off Brown went for extra bases, including a massive 431-foot solo shot to right field by Kyle Schwarber and a triple by Nick Castellanos that missed leaving the yard in left-center field by an inch or two, both in the third inning. It's the third time in his last five starts that Brown has been tagged for at least six runs, and while the other two outings in that time were quality starts, his ERA has swollen to 5.71 as a result. The right-hander will look for a better result in his next trip to the mound, which lines up to come at home early next week against the Brewers.