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Zack Littell

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Zack Littell
Tampa Bay Rays – No. 52
Pitcher
Born: (1995-10-05) October 5, 1995 (age 29)
Mebane, North Carolina, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 5, 2018, for the Minnesota Twins
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Win–loss record24–21
Earned run average3.92
Strikeouts366
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Zachary Stuart Littell (born October 5, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Minnesota Twins, San Francisco Giants, and Boston Red Sox. Littell was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 11th round of the 2013 MLB draft and made his MLB debut with the Twins in 2018.

Early life

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Littell attended Eastern Alamance High School in Mebane, North Carolina.[1]

Professional career

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Seattle Mariners (2013–17)

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Littell was drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 11th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft.[2] He signed with Seattle, forgoing his commitment to play college baseball at Appalachian State University.[3] Littell made his professional debut with the Rookie-level Arizona League Mariners. He was 0–6 with a 5.94 earned run average (ERA) and a 1.560 walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) in 33+1⁄3 innings in 2013.[4]

He pitched in 2014 for the Advanced Rookie League Pulaski Mariners, going 5–5 with a 4.52 ERA in 13 starts.[4] Littell pitched in 2015 for the Single-A Clinton LumberKings, compiling a 3–6 record and 3.91 ERA in 21 starts.[4]

He started 2016 with Clinton, and was promoted to the Bakersfield Blaze in July.[5][6] In 28 total games (27 starts) between the two clubs, Littell collected a 13–6 record, 2.66 ERA, and 1.16 WHIP.[4]

New York Yankees (2017)

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On November 18, 2016, the Mariners traded Littell to the New York Yankees in exchange for pitcher James Pazos.[7] Littell started 2017 with the Tampa Yankees and was promoted to the Trenton Thunder in late June.

Minnesota Twins (2017–20)

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On July 30, 2017, the Yankees traded Littell and pitcher Dietrich Enns to the Minnesota Twins in exchange for pitcher Jaime García and cash considerations.[8] The Twins then assigned him to the Chattanooga Lookouts where he finished the season. In 27 total games (25 starts) between Tampa, Trenton, and Chattanooga, he went 19–1 with a 2.12 ERA and 1.12 WHIP.[9] On November 20, 2017, the Twins added Littell to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[10]

Littell made his MLB debut on June 5, 2018.[11] In eight games in the majors in 2018, Littell went 0–2 with a 6.20 ERA, 25 hits, 14 strikeouts, and 11 walks in 20+1⁄3 innings. In the minors, he was 6–9 with a 3.98 ERA and a 1.357 WHIP.[4]

Littell moved to the bullpen full time in 2019. He went 6–0 in 29 games with a 2.68 ERA, 32 K, and 9 BB in 37 innings, while in the minors in 63 innings, he was 3–3 with a 3.71 ERA and 25 walks. He had a hard-hit rate of 52.5%.[12]

In 2020 in 6+1⁄3 innings he gave up five home runs among 12 hits. He had a 9.95 ERA with a 2.368 WHIP.[13] On September 17, 2020, Littell was outrighted off the 40-man roster.[14] He became a free agent on November 2.[15]

San Francisco Giants (2021–22)

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On February 3, 2021, Littell signed a minor league contract with the San Francisco Giants, and received an invitation to spring training.[16][17] The Giants promoted him to the major leagues on April 30.[18] In the 2021 regular season, Littell was 4–0 with a 2.92 ERA in 63 games (2 starts) covering 62+2⁄3 innings in which he struck out 63 batters with the Giants; with Triple-A Sacramento, he had a 9.00 ERA.[19] His hard-hit percentage of 46.0% was in the bottom (worst) 5% of major league pitchers.[20]

On September 13, 2022, Giants manager Gabe Kapler came to the pitcher's mound to remove Littell from a game, after Littell had given up two earned runs on three hits and a walk on only 15 pitches.[21] Littell slammed the ball into Kapler's hand and angrily told Kapler he wanted to remain in the game.[22] The next day, the Giants demoted him to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats.[23][24]

In 2022, Littell was 3–3 with a 5.08 ERA and a 1.376 WHIP with the Giants.[25] He was 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA with Triple-A Sacramento. The Giants waived him off the 40-man roster on November 9, 2022. When no team chose to pick him up, the Giants outrighted him to Sacramento.[26] He elected free agency on November 10.[27]

Texas Rangers (2023)

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On January 12, 2023, Littell signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers organization.[28] He began the year with the Triple-A Round Rock Express, for whom he made eight appearances and recorded a 2.25 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 12.0 innings pitched. The Rangers never called him up from the minor leagues.[29]

Boston Red Sox (2023)

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On May 5, 2023, Littell was traded to the Boston Red Sox in exchange for cash considerations.[30] He was selected to Boston's active roster the next day.[31] In two relief appearances for Boston, he surrendered three hits, three walks, and three runs in three innings pitched, for a 9.00 ERA. Littell was designated for assignment on May 10, five days after being acquired.[32]

Tampa Bay Rays (2023–present)

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On May 12, 2023, Littell was claimed off waivers by the Tampa Bay Rays.[33] He pitched for both the Triple–A Durham Bulls (with whom he was 0-1 with an 18.00 ERA) and the Rays, which converted him into a starting pitcher. On August 4, he threw a career-high 6 innings, allowing no runs and earning a win against the Detroit Tigers.[34] He ended the season 3-6, with a 4.10 ERA between the two major league teams.

References

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  1. ^ "Pitcher from Mebane joins another big-league team". alamancenews.com. February 1, 2023.
  2. ^ O'Neill, Conor. "Mariners draft Eastern Alamance pitcher in 11th round". Times-News. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  3. ^ "Zack Littell Class of 2013 – Player Profile | Perfect Game USA". Perfect Game.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Zack Littell Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  5. ^ "Littell called up to Cali, shuts down Rangers' affiliate". Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  6. ^ "Minors notebook: Littell lighting things up for the Blaze". Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  7. ^ "Mariners make two trades for three players, add three minor leaguers to the 40-man roster and move on from three others". The Seattle Times. November 18, 2016.
  8. ^ Mazzeo, Mike (July 30, 2017). "Yankees acquire starting pitcher Jaime Garcia from Twins for two prospects". New York Daily News. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  9. ^ "Zack Littell Stats, Highlights, Bio – MiLB.com Stats". MiLB.com. Retrieved March 25, 2018.
  10. ^ "Zack Littell, Stephen Gonsalves, Lewis Thorpe added to Twins' 40-man roster". Star Tribune. November 21, 2017. Retrieved December 7, 2017.
  11. ^ Sutton, Bob. "From Mebane to the majors: Littell set for Twins debut". The Times-News.
  12. ^ Shah, Preet (June 25, 2021). "Why the Twins May Have Given Up on Zack Littell Too Early". Zone Coverage.
  13. ^ Tulsa Drillers on X
  14. ^ Steve Adams (September 17, 2020). "Twins Outright Zack Littell". MLB Trade Rumors.
  15. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season cancelled". mlb.com. Retrieved September 17, 2024.
  16. ^ Klopfer, Brady (February 4, 2021). "Giants sign RHP Zack Littell to a MiLB deal". McCovey Chronicles.
  17. ^ "Giants To Sign Zack Littell". MLB Trade Rumors.
  18. ^ "Giants Select Zack Littell, Designate Skye Bolt". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
  19. ^ "Zack Littell Stats". Baseball-Reference.com.
  20. ^ "Zack Littell Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics | MLB.com". baseballsavant.com.
  21. ^ "Giants drama between Gabe Kapler and reliever adds to Dodgers' joy". Dodgers Way. September 13, 2022.
  22. ^ Shayna Rubin (September 13, 2022). "Exhausted Giants beat Braves; Zack Littell has heated moment with Kapler". Mercury News. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  23. ^ Alex Pavlovic (September 13, 2022). "Giants option Littell after heated exchange with Kapler". NBC Sports. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  24. ^ "Zack Littell sent to Triple-A after heated exchange with Giants' Gabe Kapler". Yahoo. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  25. ^ "Zack Littell Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com.
  26. ^ Brady Klopfer (November 9, 2022). "Giants outright players, lose players, add Dom Núñez".
  27. ^ "2022-23 Minor League Free Agents For All 30 MLB Teams". Baseball America. Retrieved May 2, 2023.
  28. ^ "Rangers' Zack Littell: Signs minor-league deal". cbssports.com. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  29. ^ "Former SF Giants reliever briefly returns to MLB with Red Sox". Sports Illustrated.
  30. ^ "Red Sox's Zack Littell: Traded to Boston". cbssports.com. Retrieved May 5, 2023.
  31. ^ "Red Sox's Zack Littell: Active in big-league bullpen". cbssports.com. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
  32. ^ "Red Sox's Zack Littell: Loses 40-man spot". cbssports.com. May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  33. ^ "Rays' Zack Littell: Claimed by Tampa Bay". cbssports.com. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  34. ^ "Wait, Zack Littell is a Starter Now?!". FanGraphs Baseball. August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
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