Chicago Cubs Cannot Afford this Struggling Version of Former Top Prospect

The Chicago Cubs dropped just their second game of the last week on Saturday afternoon against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Though they still have a chance on Sunday night to win their seventh series of the last eight with a rubber match, a somewhat disturbing trend emerged during the loss.

Someone the Cubs are going to be counting on heavily for the remainder of the season in right-hander Ben Brown had an absolutely brutal game, being rocked by a Phillies lineup which was held scoreless the day before.

Brown lasted just 3.2 innings, giving up nine hits and six runs, raising his ERA on the year to 6.04.

The plan all along was to move Brown into a starting role, however after the season-ending injury to Justin Steele it went from a hope he could transition to a desperate need for things to work out.

On top of Brown, fellow young right-hander Javier Assad -- who is capable when healthy of playing a similar role -- does not appear to be anywhere near returning either.

With the way things have gone, the 25-year-old has become a critical part of the plan, and if he can't pan out it's going to put Chicago in a bit of a box.

Last season, Brown was featured both out of the rotation and the bullpen, but a neck injury took a significant portion of his season.

In 15 appearances including eight starts, he started to flash the talent the Cubs believed was there with a 3.58 ERA and 1.084. To this point for whatever reason this season, that level of success has just not carried over.

With just one combined earned run in his two starts prior to Saturday, there was hope that Brown had started to turn the corner.

A performance earlier this month against the Los Angeles Dodgers in which he threw six scoreless innings with no walks made it appear as if Chicago might have even more than they had hoped for on their hands.

Two weeks later, Brown finds himself back in a spot where the future of his status in the rotation and the staff as a whole is a question mark.

While the Cubs need Brown to emerge as a starter, they will not simply keep throwing him out there to get shelled over and over.

In an ideal world, this can simply be chalked up to a rough day and Brown is going to be back to getting opposing lineups out at a high rate.

If he cannot though, it's going to spell major trouble for Chicago's chances of contending this season with a pitching staff that continues to have major issues.