Little Leads Rotation in Second Half
By Sam Weiderhaft
The 2022 Pelicans pitching staff has been nothing short of incredible. Their 3.43 team ERA ranks third in Minor League Baseball, and they have the most strikeouts in the Carolina League at 1,050. With these performances, promotions to the higher levels have been frequent.
In the last two weeks, the Pelicans have seen four members of their starting rotation receive the promotion to High-A South Bend. Luis Devers, Porter Hodge, Tyler Schlaffer, and Richard Gallardo all have been called up, leaving room for Luke Little to take over as the “ace” in Myrtle Beach.
After being selected in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB Draft by the Cubs out of San Jacinto Junior College, the 6-8 lefty pitched just 11 innings in the Arizona Complex League in 2021. He pitched in five games with four starts and held an ERA of 4.91 before he started 2022 in Myrtle Beach.
Little’s season has been an interesting one. In the beginning of the year, the starter was given a strict pitch limit: 25 pitches or two innings before he was pulled. His first few outings were used to fix his mechanics on the mound.
“It could have been a better start,” Little said. “I’ve had some good months but there was a little bit of a rough patch in the beginning of the year. We were making a lot of changes mechanically, but once we got through that, we started hitting a stretch of getting better and better.”
Little started four games in April and threw 9 1/3 innings with four earned runs and 15 strikeouts. His ERA in his first month of full-season baseball was 3.86. That was followed by a dominant month of May with an ERA of 2.03 as his innings and pitch limit increased to three frames and 55 pitches.
Little has admitted that with his strict limits, there have been frustrating times in his first year at the Single-A level.
“Unless I’m closing, it frustrates me not to be able to go out and get more than three innings of work in,” Little said. “There have definitely been some frustrating points but I’m glad that I’m at the point where I’m getting better and better, and throwing less pitches so I can extend my outings.”
Little’s fastball, which regularly touches the upper 90s, has been the key to his success in professional baseball. With his fastball and a slider that has fooled hitters this season, Little’s July saw him turn a corner from a shaky June.
For the first time in his professional career, Little threw four innings in his start on July 22nd at Charleston. He struck out five with just one hit allowed and two walks in a scoreless outing against the RiverDogs. After getting through the third inning, he received word from pitching coach Clayton Mortensen and manager Buddy Bailey.
“You’re still in it.”
“I started to focus a lot more once I got out of that third inning and found out I was going out again,” Little said. “I went out there and thought I did pretty well for my first fourth inning so it was pretty exciting.”
Little’s numbers in the month of July proved that his early-season adjustments have been working. He started five games with a 1.15 ERA and 25 strikeouts across just under 16 innings with only five walks.
With new starters entering the rotation in the second half, the Pelicans will rely on Little’s experience with his limits being lifted. Once a series, the tall left-hander will focus on keeping his pitch count low and going deeper into games as the Pelicans get ready for their first playoff appearance since 2017.
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