Chicago Cubs Pitchers of the Month: June 2026

The Chicago Cubs pitching staff, to put it gently, is in shambles as June comes to a close. The fact that the team is ten games over .500 with five starters, their closer, the anticipated set-up man, and hordes of others on the injured list is quite remarkable. Even more so, the pitching staff, patchwork as it is, somehow keeps holding its own, or at least isn’t preventing the team from winning recently.

I still watch games with a certain whiff of dread, though. They simply are almost out of arms! The North Siders' race to October may simply devolve into a war of attrition against themselves.

Nevertheless, these three pitchers were not only successful in June, but in their own ways emblematic of the team as a whole.

Ranking Cubs' Best Pitchers in June

3rd Place: Shota Imanaga

1-0, 4.13 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 28 IP, 5 BB, 23 K, 7 HR allowed

The Good

When you look at Imanaga’s June, he was battling on the mound. While he wasn’t involved in many decisions, the Cubs did go 4-1 in his five starts. Imanaga has also averaged just one walk per start, keeping runners off the bases. He also continues to be just a fun, expressive player; he’s easy to root for. As the last man standing from the projected rotation, Imanaga is quite important the rest of the way.

The Impending Doom

Seven home runs this months is emblematic of the staff as a whole. The Cubs lead the entire MLB in home runs allowed, and the new batch of 2019-style 'bouncy balls' won’t help. Wrigley winds seem to have gone back to their classic mode as well. Imanaga, a noted fly ball pitcher, will have to keep the ball on the infield dirt more to utilize the roster's brilliant defense. He, along with the rest of the staff, should realize that a good defense can’t catch balls that fly onto Waveland.

2nd Place: Ben Brown

2-0, 1.65 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 16 IP, 12 K

The Good

Brown continued his breakout season last month... until a recurrence of his neck issue from two years ago derailed it. Many internet articles of the theme of “Where would the Cubs be without Ben Brown” were published. Well, I guess we’ll find out! He was putting up great numbers, though it would have been nice to see him maintain that performance across an entire season. At the very least, Brown will have a great Strat-0-Matic card if he takes a while to return tot he mound.

The Impending Doom

Brown, like the Cubs as a whole, was on a razor’s edge this season. Hard contact was always his bugaboo and his stats masked some troubling trends. Opponents slugged .339 against him in June, up from a stellar .176 in May. The eye test confirmed it as well; teams were starting to solve Ben Brown’s puzzle. The injury happened at the perfect time to preserve his stats and optimism about him as a starter.

Razzball fantasy projections have Brown with a 3.72 ERA going forward if healthy. And that’s the rub with the Cubs' rotation: Most of these guys aren't great pitchers. They’re all capable of a solid stretch, but the most important guys are already injured. They can replace an average pitcher with another (at least close to) average guy in most cases. Brown was evolving beyond that threshold in 2026, but for now, the team will attempt to replace his production with David Peterson.

Winner: Ryan Rolison

2-0, 1 save, 0.68 ERA, 15 K in 13 IP, 0.68 WHIP

The Good

Jed Hoyer found another reliever on the scrap heap, turning trash into treasure. Rolison has been an opener, closer, high-leverage guy, and overall godsend to the otherwise beleaguered bullpen. While not fully inspired with confidence so far, this seems to be the Brad Keller find of the offseason, and kudos to Hoyer for identifying the traits he had that led to his success so far.

The Impending Doom

Rolison could implode, joining the other failed signings of Hunter Harvey, Phil Maton, Hector Neris, and basically anyone Hoyer has signed to high-dollar relief deals. The bullpen's larger issues are being masked by the unlikely success that Rolison is having. Any regression or injury from the sterling southpaw, and the 'pen will implode even more than it is doing already.

So there it is! There’s some good, but there’s impending doom in every area. This team will need to carry its pitching staff if they’re going to make a playoff run, though perhaps some better health in the second half (we should be so lucky) could flip the script.