Prospect Profile – Luke Little Is More Than a Viral Video

One video made Luke Little. Earlier this spring, a video was posted on Twitter and went viral showing Little throwing a pitch 105 miles an hour. While 105 was probably not the real speed, Little had been known to top 100 miles an hour, but that was the exception rather than the norm. However, that one video drew a lot of attention and would get him drafted by the Cubs in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB Draft. At same time, that video didn’t really show what kind of pitcher Little could really be.

Basic Info
Height – 6-foot-8
Weight – 225
Throws – Left
Age – 19
From – Matthews, North Carolina (East Mecklenburg High School)
Junior College – San Jacinto North

Little was not drafted out of high school even though was a Perfect Game All-American.

Instead, Little attended San Jacinto North in Texas and had a pretty good freshman year. In 35.1 innings, he had a 2.04 ERA with 69 strikeouts. In addition, he also walked 36 but opponents only hit .159 off him. That was a pretty good season for a freshman.

That summer, Little would go play in the Northwoods League for the Traverse City Pit Spitters where he had a pretty good run there, too. In 11 games, he pitched 12.1 IP and struck out 22 batteries but walked 11. He only allowed just 2 hits in his tenure. For the summer, he posted a 1.45 ERA and headed back to San Jacinto for the 2020 season.

Little was part of the rotation that included three guys who were slated to be taken in the 2020 MLB draft. Mitchell Parker, whom the Cubs had taken in 2018, was taken and signed by the Nationals this summer. Brandon Birdsell was higher ranked than Little and Parker but is instead going to Texas A&M. And, of course, Little was taken by the Cubs.

Despite a short season due to the pandemic, Little posted some decent numbers. He threw in 5 games and got in 9 innings of work. He struck out 17 and walked just 3 while giving up just 3 hits. His ERA was 2.00. He was slated to attend the University of South Carolina this fall.

If there had been baseball this summer, Little, at just 19, probably would’ve spent most of his summer in Mesa in the Arizona Rookie League. The Cubs would probably be focusing on his control and developing his changeup and breaking ball. He’s not going to turn 20 until late August. The Cubs will take their time and do right by him and themselves.

In most of the post draft reviews, people like Jim Callis of MLB Pipeline see Little as a reliever in the long run rather than a starter.. That could be what Little ends up doing in the majors, but I wouldn’t be shocked at all to see Little begin games on the mound so that he can work on his pitches. He may not go 5 or 6 innings, but he could go throw 3 or 4 and work on his game that way. Or he could just come out and be a piggyback starter like many young pitchers do in the system.

Cubs’ VP of Scouting Dan Kantrowitz told Jordan Bastian what the Cubs saw in Little’s future:

“He’s going to be somebody that we’re going to, I think, really just leverage the resources and instructors and technology in our player development operation. Whether that’s in pitch design, whether that’s in refining his mechanics or getting consistency in release point, he definitely has some work to do.”

In most of the interviews and evaluations about Little, it is clear he is working hard on his craft. He shed 30 pounds between 2019 and 2020. He improved his control, even if it was in short stints. However, narratives are hard to get rid of and Little’s reputation for being a little wild could take some time to change despite what he showed this spring.

With his young age, there’s a lot of things still in play and a lot that could happen over the next 2 to 3 years. If he’s going to be a reliever, he could probably move faster than he would if he was a starter. Either way, that fastball is going to play, it’s just a matter if Little can keep everything in the zone and keep the walks to a minimum.

Even Little is aware of what is coming with the Cubs. He told Bastian:

“They like to use a lot of software, which will help me develop a lot. I think I have a really good chance at developing into a pretty good starter or reliever, however they want to use me. … I’m so excited for it. It’s going to be a lot of help with helping develop me as a pitcher. All the data’s going to help so much with it. It’s going to be astronomically better than college.”

With minor league baseball cancelled this summer, Little’s career path next summer could be wide-ranging. He will either begin the year in South Bend or in extended spring training, depending on his own development the next seven months.