Finally, Confirmation That Ben Brown Is Indeed Throwing Kick-Change
It’s taken longer than I’d hoped when I started talking and writing about Ben Brown implementing a kick-change, but we finally have confirmation that he’s done just that. We discussed the idea during the May 1 episode of The Rant podcast, and Brown threw the updated version of the offspeed pitch in a game for the first time the very next day. Is that proof that he listens to our pod? Did I have some inside info?
It’s probably “no” to both, though my speculation was highly informed by some basic knowledge of Brown’s throwing mechanics and the fact that former Tread Athletics guru Tyler Zombro is in the Cubs’ front office. Once I dug into the data, it became quite obvious that something looked different with Brown’s changeup in his May 2 start against the Brewers. I specifically identified a pitch against Sal Frelick based on its characteristics.
The change Brown threw Frelick on 0-1 in the 4th inning generated just the third swing and only whiff he had gotten on a change to that point. It also had just 5 inches of induced vertical break, tying it for the most depth he’s ever gotten on an offspeed offering, with a mere 1,169 rpm spin rate that was more than 500 below his season average and nearly 400 lower than he’s ever gotten. Still, no one was admitting Brown was throwing a new pitch.
Then came his start against the Tigers on Apple TV+, which has a much clearer picture than you’ll find on any other platform. While it’s not Edgertronic, you could see that Brown was spiking his middle finger as a way to let his ring finger “kick” the ball’s axis into side-spin.
Looks like Ben Brown is indeed spiking that middle finger for a kick-change. pic.twitter.com/vEWsJxLLqd
— Evan Altman (@DEvanAltman) June 6, 2025
The first public acknowledgement — at least that I’m aware of — that Brown is throwing the most popular new pitch in baseball came Monday from MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian. Brown confirmed that the changeup to Frelick was indeed the first kick he’d thrown in live action, though it’s taken him quite a while to feel comfortable with it. The big righty threw the change nine times during his longest outing of the season in Detroit and talked to reporters later in the weekend about the adoption process.
“It’s different for everybody,” Brown explained. “Some people can kind of pick up a new grip and just be so confident in their ability to go out there and rip it the same week. Some guys are just more able to do something like that, and it’s super impressive.
“I would probably fall on the complete opposite of that. I’m pretty stubborn with my arsenal, so throwing another pitch was always a challenge for me.”
What’s really wild is that, despite making up just 4% of his repertoire this season, the changeup has technically been Brown’s best pitch. With a run value of zero so far, it’s one ahead of both the fastball and curve according to Statcast. And based on his recent results, we should see the change continue to trend upward in usage. He threw it for strikes seven times against the Tigers, getting two called, one whiff, two fouls, and two in play.
For context, he needed 17 pre-kick changeups to generate seven strikes of any variety. It’s also notable that he’s thrown the changeup twice to right-handed hitters, something we could see more of as his confidence grows. Really getting that change to a place where it’s a viable third option for him will elevate him from fringy starter to mid-rotation guy with a chance to be even better.
