Luke Little - 2/7/23

Prospect spotlight on big lefty Luke Little of the Cubs.

Prospect Spotlight 🔦

Luke Little, LHS - Age: 22, Bats/Throws: L/L, 6’8” / 220 - Cubs (High-A)

When writing, it’s important to lead with your most important information up front, so here goes: Luke Little reportedly hit 105 mph on a radar gun in a pre-draft workout ahead of the 2020 MLB Draft. Any time a left-handed pitcher hits triple-digits, it’s news … but 105? Wow.

B/R Walk-Off @BRWalkoff

Newly drafted Cubs prospect 6'8" lefty Luke Little was clocked throwing a 105 mph heater 🔥 (via @PitchingNinja)

Shortly thereafter, the Cubs drafted Little in the fourth round of the COVID-abbreviated 2020 draft, where the former San Jacinto JuCo product could, ostensibly, work on re-discovering that otherworldly velocity.

Little spent 2021 at the Cubs’ complex league, where he only logged 11 innings in game action and gave evaluators very little to work with: no significant injury information, just a limited amount of in-game mound time. (That may have been attributed to control issues, which we’ll touch on in a minute.)

As you might expect given his draft position, the early-career complex league slotting, and the fact that you may just be hearing his name for the first time now, Little hasn’t exactly been revisiting 105 on the gun since his pro debut. (Instead, his fastball velocity now sits regularly somewhere between 94-97 mph.)