Luke
Little

Gardner Webb commit. Physically imposing at 6-foot-8, 230 pounds.  Deception in the delivery with long arms and a shoulder turn during leg lift. Average leg kick.  Long arm action using a ¾ slot.  Slinger type approach, with the hand working outside the elbow throughout the arm swing. FB has late life sitting at 87-89 topping at 90. Very aggressive with the fastball, commanding the glove side.  Sharp SL with late break at 77-80. Slider tilt is hard, 2/8 tilt, occasionally sweeping late.  Pounded the glove side of the plate with the pitch.  Change-up has fade sitting 76-78. Erratic at times but does show the ability to throw all 3 pitches for strikes. Change is slotted as the third pitch right now.  Will create a tough at bat for both left and right-hand hitters with his long arms and deception.

Big bodied athlete is beginning to have everything sync up as he settles into the 6-foot-8, 230 pound frame.  Strength over quickness in the left handed swing that shows power.  Exit velocity topped at 94 mph as he works level through the zone, wanting extension and pull side aggression.  Airs out the swing, creating some head discipline issues at times.  At first base, works easy to catch, staying in rhythm.  Clean exchanges.  Long arm arc to an over-the-top slot that procures carry.  Position velocity peaked at 80 mph.  Ran a 7.69 sixty.

Power arm potential in a big body, listed at 6-foot-7, 220 pounds.  Committed to Gardner Webb, touched 87 with fastball, while sitting 84-85 in one of his first bullpens of the  year.  Slot floats at times between a high-3/4 and a 3/4 release.  Long arm swing works behind the body line with looseness, creating whip.  For a big guy, has some rhythm over the rubber, working level and landing on line.  Tends to coil at balance, staying tall, and loses some extension as he leaves the line early.  Breaking ball has a sweepy 2/8 arc with late break, touching 73.  Although erratic, it has a high ceiling in the future.  Slows the arm on the change-up, ranging 75-76, with a feel for the zone.

Gardner Webb commit that has a presence at 6-foot-7, 225 pounds.  Average leg kick with some body turn at balance.  Long front side action matches the arm swing that works slightly behind the line.  Front side is closed off creating some cross-fire action, while the lower half does land on-line at foot strike.  Arm strength plays above arm speed at this time.  Fastball had a wide range, as the body tried to sync, sitting 81-84, and touching 86 early.  The slider flashed depth, working from the same slot as the fastball with good hand speed.  Slider ranged 68-71.  

2020 DRAFT: A South Carolina recruit, Little does not resemble his name. At an imposing 6-foot-8, 245 pounds he can run his live-actioned fastball up to 100+ mph and will sit 96-98 with improving control. He also mixes in a tilted low-80s slider with some depth, but projection remains for it to become a consistent average ML pitch. He pitches with an athletic tempo to his delivery through hand break, slightly stabbing his arm behind before driving violently down the mound. There are some moving parts and long limbs for him to sync up, but he creates a tough at-bat for anyone in the box and has plenty of projection remaining. Little battled back problems during his sophomore season at San Jacinto, limiting him to just nine innings pitched with three walks and 17 strikeouts, but there aren't too many left-handed arms with his size and stuff. Look for him to be considered in the top three rounds, but his signability will ultimately determine if/when he is selected this summer. For more on Little, please see a recent profile; Then & Now.

11/1/19: A South Carolina recruit, Little does not resemble his name. At an imposing 6-foot-7, the lefty sits 96-98, while touching 100 mph with his fastball. He also mixes in a hard breaking ball with depth. He pitches with an athletic tempo to his delivery through hand break, slightly stabbing his arm behind before driving violently down the mound. There are some moving parts and long limbs for him to sync up, but he creates a tough at-bat for anyone in the box and has plenty of projection remaining. With continued performance and improvement, look for Little to be selected during Day One this June.

10/14/19: South Carolina commit.  Imposing 6-foot-7 left handed pitcher fastball that sits 96-98 mph, and a curveball with depth that is a change of speeds. Has a good athletic tempo to his delivery through hand break, slightly stabs his arm behind before driving down the mound violently. There are some moving parts and long limbs for him to sync up in the delivery, but he creates a tough at bat for anyone in the box. Little has an extremely high ceiling and is starting to tap into his potential. (Haig)

8/6/19: Nearly nine hours after players took the field for the workout portion of yesterday’s Major League Dreams Showcase, San Jac southpaw Luke Little took the mound in the seventh inning of Game Two and provided an immediate shot of adrenaline for the dozens of scouts in attendance, registering 97, 96 and 97 mph with his first three offerings. The 6-foot-8, 240-pound lefty proceeded to attack the zone with his heater, making quick work of the opposition on just ten pitches (eight for strikes). The total damage was impressive – two strikeouts (one on an elevated fastball and one on an impressive low-80s changeup out of the zone) and one shattered bat infield pop out. Each of his seven heaters registered 96 or 97 mph on the gun. The lefty worked such a quick inning that he didn’t get to showcase his full arsenal in depth, though he did manage a couple of changeups and flashed a hard, tilted low-80s breaker with slider shape. There’s effort in the motion and a long arm action that he has, at times in the past, struggled to keep on time, but his slot and long levers create tough angles and the body, velocity and three-pitch mix are all highly enticing. Arms like this are generally off the board no later than the fourth round and depending on how the secondaries and his control look come next spring, this is a potential Day One talent. (Faleris)