Cubs Prospect Profile: Luke Little |
Whenever you go through a team's prospect list at the end of the season, you must consider how differently it may look in a couple of months. One of the big reasons is that when a prospect appears in Major League action during the season, their time on the prospect list will be cut down.
That is something a lot of the Cubs current prospects will be seeing next season as their top 30 list will look completely different once the season starts and once again when it ends. One guy on that list right now, but won't be much longer is the big lefty Luke Little who checks in at No. 25 on the prospect. Ironically, his last name is Little, as the big-lefty is anything but little as he stands at an imposing 6-8 and weighs 220 pounds. Known for his power fastball that touched 105 MPH at times, Little was surprisingly never a highly regarded prospect as he went toward the Junior College route at San Jacinto (TX). Once there, Little went on to put up eye-popping numbers before the COVID pandemic shut the season down in March. Still, his performances put him on the radar of many MLB teams, as the Cubs selected him in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB draft. Knowing that he would not pitch in 2020, the Cubs had to figure out the best plan for Little as they brought him along a bit slower than most would have. He appeared in five games in 2021, posting a 4.91 ERA with the ACL Cubs before finally getting to full-season ball in 2022. In that season, Little became more of a starter as he pitched in 24 contests, with 22 coming as starts. His overall record wasn't great at 1-5, but with a 2.47 ERA, you could see how good the potential was. Little walked 38 and struck out 101 that season while pitching less than 66 innings. Expected to take significant strides forward in 2023, the Cubs didn't know how they would use Little when the season started, but he made life very easy for them. Sure, he did start four games, but after pitching less than four innings in each of those starts, the Cubs felt he would be best suited for a high-leverage role. Little would then reward the Cubs by giving them 32 relief appearances across three minor league levels and posted a 5-2 mark with a 2.12 ERA in 62 innings. His 42 walks were slightly elevated, but his 105 strikeouts were also up from 2022 as Little earned a late-season promotion to the bigs. Despite a limited sample size, Little pitched in seven games for the Cubs down the stretch, tallying 6 2/3 innings, and didn't allow an earned run. He walked four, struck out 12, and scattered five hits as he will be one of many young pitchers looking to latch onto this team out of camp. Should he continue to do what he showed this season, Little not only has the potential to be the Cubs best reliever next year but could become one of the best lefties in all of baseball. While his triple-digit days may be behind him, he will still give you a 95-97 MPH heater as his large frame leads to what scouts call easy velocity. Given his length on the follow-through, that fastball gets a ton of carry and misses many bats. The fastball may be overpowering at times, but the slider is his out pitch and is a legitimate wipeout pitch when executed right. It sits around 84 MPH and comes with a ton of sweeping action to get lefties and righties out. Those may be the primary pitches that Little goes to; he also has an 87 MPH splitter that he can go to but hasn't felt the need to rely on that pitch yet. Chicago has helped him clean up his delivery, but he still doesn't consistently repeat it and battles his control. He has the upside of a high-leverage reliever if he can learn to harness his stuff. Of all of the fringe roster players to keep an eye on in 2024, Little has the most potential and is the one guy that a lot of scouts are going to keep an eye on this spring.
