Brendon David Little (born August 11, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago Cubs.
| Brendon Little | |
|---|---|
 Brendon Little pitching for the South Bend Cubs | |
| Toronto Blue Jays – No. 54 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born: August 11, 1996 Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S. | |
Bats: Left Throws: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 30, 2022, for the Chicago Cubs | |
| MLB statistics (through August 22, 2024) | |
| Win–loss record | 1–3 |
| Earned run average | 4.68 |
| Strikeouts | 26 |
| Teams | |
| |
Amateur career
editLittle graduated from Conestoga High School in 2015. He was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 36th round of the 2015 MLB draft, but he chose not to sign and instead decided to enroll at the University of North Carolina to play college baseball.[1] After appearing in only four games as a freshman in 2016, he transferred to the State College of Florida, Manatee–Sarasota.[2][3][4] In 2016, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Bourne Braves of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was named a league all-star.[5][6] In 2017, his sophomore year, he went 5–3 with a 2.53 ERA in 15 starts.[7]
Professional career
editChicago Cubs
editAfter his sophomore season, Little was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the first round of the 2017 MLB draft.[8][9] He signed, and was assigned to the Eugene Emeralds, where he went 0–2 with a 9.37 ERA in six starts.[10]
Little spent the 2018 season with the South Bend Cubs, compiling a 5–11 record with 5.15 ERA in 22 games (21 starts).[11] Little began 2019 with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans on the injured list.[12] After being activated from the IL, he returned to South Bend before being promoted back to Myrtle Beach. Over six starts with South Bend, he compiled a 1.91 ERA, and over four starts with the Pelicans, he went 2–1 with a 5.95 ERA.
Little did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, he saw action as a reliever, pitching with the Tennessee Smokies and Iowa Cubs for the majority of the season. He found relative success in this new role, accruing a 3.24 ERA across 26 games with 53 strikeouts.
On August 30, 2022, the Cubs selected Little's contract and promoted him to the major leagues for the first time.[13] He made his MLB debut that day, pitching against the Toronto Blue Jays. On September 1, Little was removed from the 40–man roster and returned back to Triple-A Iowa.[14]
In 2023, Little spent the season with Triple–A Iowa, making 50 appearances and registering a 4.05 ERA with 73 strikeouts across 73+1⁄3 innings of work.[15]
Toronto Blue Jays
editOn November 6, 2023, Little was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for cash considerations; he was subsequently added to the team's 40-man roster.[16] He was optioned to the Triple–A Buffalo Bisons to begin the 2024 season.[17]
References
edit- ^ "Cubs No. 1 pick Brendon Little determined to remain on rapid ascent". Chicago Sun-Times. June 23, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
- ^ "Brendon Little Finding His Road Back | BaseballAmerica.com". Archived from the original on July 18, 2017. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
- ^ "Brendon Little poised to live up to the hype with State College of Florida baseball". Bradenton.com. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
- ^ "SCF's Brendon Little grows into possible first-round pick". Bradenton.com. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
- ^ "#15 Brendon Little". Pointstreak.com. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
- ^ Jacob Janower (June 28, 2017). "How a Summer with the Bourne Braves Made Brendon Little a First-Round Pick". capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
- ^ Bailey, Teddy (June 13, 2017). "Locals in the MLB draft: Conestoga grad Brendon Little goes 27th to Cubs". Inquirer.com.
- ^ "Cubs draft Brendon Little with 27th pick". MLB.com. Archived from the original on June 13, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
- ^ "Cubs No. 1 pick Brendon Little determined to remain on rapid ascent". Archived from the original on August 3, 2018. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
- ^ "Brendon Little Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". Retrieved October 31, 2017.
- ^ "Brendon Little Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
- ^ Michael Ernst (April 3, 2019). "Myrtle Beach Pelicans Preview | Cubs Den". Chicagonow.com. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
- ^ "Cubs' Brendon Little: Called up Monday". cbssports.com. August 29, 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
- ^ "Cubs' Brendon Little: Reports back to Triple-A". cbssports.com. September 2022. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
- ^ "Blue Jays' Brendon Little: Lands in Toronto". cbssports.com. November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2023.
- ^ "Blue Jays Acquire Brendon Little, Select Mitch White". November 6, 2023.
- ^ "Blue Jays' Brendon Little: Optioned to Buffalo". cbssports.com. March 23, 2024.
External links
edit- Career statistics from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet