The Cubs injury-laden pitching staff has forced a number of players into roles they likely weren’t anticipating at the start of the season. After all, how many of us thought the Cubs would have a 27-14 record along with seven different pitchers having saves as they head into a clash of the National League titans in Atlanta? But the player whose role may impact the team’s overall success the most might be Ben Brown, who has bounced between the starting rotation, bullpen and Iowa over the past couple of years as he tried to find the right fit.

This time might actually be different. In a February piece from The Athletic, Brown was quoted: “I developed a sinker and changeup this offseason.” Those pitches might end up being more consequential than anyone imagined at the time. After all, Brown’s problem has never been stuff, it was always sequencing, predictability and the ability to locate his pitches.

Last season Brown struggled to the tune of 5.92 ERA with a 1.44 WHIP across 106.1 innings while splitting time between the rotation and bullpen. The culprit was a two-pitch mix that smart hitters learned to sit on. Opposing hitters teed off on his four-seamer, batting .315 with a .526 slugging percentage while producing just a 14.8 percent whiff rate. Hitters knew what was coming and they mashed it. Enter, stage right, a sinker:

That sinker made Brown a much more dangerous pitcher. He’s throwing it 42 percent of the time to right-handed hitters, and the results have been excellent. Batters are hitting and slugging just .217 off the sinker. It has also induced an 82.9 mph average exit velocity.

Brown is also throwing a changeup 5.6 percent of the time, almost exclusively to southpaws. He’s thrown 25 changeups so far this season and it’s a weapon. Brown’s changeup sits at 90.4 miles per hour and has a 40 percent whiff rate so far this season.

All of it adds up to a much more dangerous version of Ben Brown than the one who started 15 games last season. So when Matthew Boyd needed meniscus surgery, Brown was ready to rejoin the rotation. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Brown was already working multiple innings in anticipation of potentially needing to start during the season:

Brown said he didn’t think it would take long for him to be stretched out as a starter. Counsell said he has made a point of giving Brown multiple innings. He went 3„ innings in each of his first two appearances this season, and has gone at least two innings in eight of his last 10 appearances. He has thrown a team-high 25% innings out of the pen, posting a 2.10 ERA while striking out 10 and walking eight. Four of those walks came in his first three appearances.

The result was four no-hit innings against the Rangers. As Bleacher Nation noted: “Brown tossed four no-hit innings, struck out three, induced six ground ball outs, and had only one baserunner to deal with as a result of his one walk. He needed just 46 pitches to get through the four innings and threw nine sinkers and four changeups, getting 40 and 100-percent whiff rates on the two pitches, respectively.“ It’s a minuscule, but promising, sample.

Brown’s next test will be one of the league’s best offenses in Atlanta. He’s slated to toe the rubber for the Cubs opposite Chris Sale in Atlanta on Thursday.