We are coming down the home stretch. With the 117th pick of the MLB Draft, the Cubs went with Luke Little out of San Jacinto Junior College. He joins fellow 2020 draft picks Ed Howard, Burl Carraway, and Jordan Nwogu.
Physicality
Little is one of the tallest pitchers of this draft class, standing 6-foot-8 and 225 pounds. Oh, and did I mention he throws the ball 105 MPH? That is not a typo. The lefty was clocked at 105 in a workout video this spring, which would be the hardest pitch speed ever recorded. There is no other way to describe it other than pure insanity.
Tools
So we know the fastball velocity is clearly there. He isn’t going to throw 105 on every pitch, but sitting in at least the high-90s can be expected, especially assuming that he is used strictly as a reliever as a professional. His offspeed offerings are not as impressive as the heater, with the slider and changeup needing quite a bit of work. Little will also needs to throw more strikes moving forward, because even guys that touch triple digits need to hit the zone every once in a while.
Statistics
The numbers are exactly what you expect them to be with Little. In 35.1 innings last year he racked up 69 strikeouts and walked 36. He was able to keep his ERA down at 2.04 working mostly out of the bullpen. You can deal with walks from a reliever, and you can even put up with a lot of walks when a guy is striking out 17 per 9 innings. But the walk numbers will have to come down from where they were at in college.
Takeaway
The Cubs are just coming away with tools all over the place. This is an extremely exciting pick. I am very intrigued as to how Craig Breslow and company handle a guy like Little in the new pitch lab. What it comes down to is how quickly the Cubs are going to let it all hang out. 105 is 105.
Out of the Vines 