Zack Littell

Zack Littell

29-Year-Old PitcherSP
Cincinnati Reds
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Littell was a rarity on the Rays roster in 2024; a pitcher who did not spend most of the season injured. Littell logged 29 starts and 156.1 innings of effective if not boring production. Littell's blueprint for success is getting ahead early in the count and forcing batters to expand their zones to protect with his splitters and sliders. How often do you see a starting pitcher whose fastball is his tertiary pitch? Fifty-eight percent of what Littell threw to batters last season was a slider or a splitter but the kitchen sink approach is what it is because he lacks a dominant pitch. The splitter is the only pitch with a whiff rate over 30 percent while none of his pitches had a batting average against below .240. Littell will not hurt you with walks, but home runs are always at risk with his lack of stuff. This is a back of the rotation starter, both for real baseball as well as fantasy baseball. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
#376
ADP
Signed a one-year, $5.72 million with the Rays in January of 2025. Traded to the Reds in July of 2025.
Takes loss in elimination game
PCincinnati Reds
October 1, 2025
Littell took the loss to the Dodgers on Wednesday in Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series. He allowed three runs on six hits while striking out two without a walk over 3.1 innings.
Analysis
The Reds staked Littell to a two-run lead before he took the mound, but he ultimately gave the lead back with three runs allowed over the third and fourth innings. Littell was lifted after 52 pitches -- an understandably quick hook from manager Terry Francona with the season on the line. Littell served up 36 home runs during the regular season, second most in the majors, but he nonetheless managed a highly respectable 3.81 and 1.10 WHIP over 186.2 innings between Tampa Bay and Cincinnati. The soon-to-be 30-year-old is a free agent this winter.
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Pitching Stats
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2025 MLB Game Log
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2025 MLB Game Log
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2024 MLB Game Log
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2023 MLB Game Log
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2022 MLB Game Log
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2021 MLB Game Log
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2020 MLB Game Log
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2019 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
86
Last 10 Games
82
Last 5 Games
78
How many pitches does Zack Littell generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does Zack Littell generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2023
 
 
-10%
BAA vs LHP
2025
 
 
-36%
BAA vs LHP
2024
 
 
-4%
BAA vs LHP
2023
 
 
-19%
BAA vs LHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2023vs Left .252 552 115 28 131 32 2 18
Since 2023vs Right .281 500 102 15 133 20 1 17
2025vs Left .286 7 1 0 2 1 0 0
2025vs Right .444 10 1 0 4 2 0 0
2024vs Left .261 362 73 20 89 20 1 12
2024vs Right .271 294 68 11 75 9 1 10
2023vs Left .233 183 41 8 40 11 1 6
2023vs Right .287 196 33 4 54 9 0 7
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2023
 
 
-21%
ERA at Home
2025
 
 
-55%
ERA at Home
2024
 
 
-36%
ERA at Home
2023
 
 
-8%
ERA on Road
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2023Home 3.47 1.09 207.2 8 11 0 7.7 1.3 1.5
Since 2023Away 4.40 1.37 120.2 6 10 0 7.6 1.6 1.2
2025Home 3.66 1.08 78.2 3 4 0 7.2 0.9 1.8
2025Away 8.10 1.80 3.1 0 1 0 5.4 0.0 0.0
2024Home 2.90 1.08 87.0 4 5 0 8.3 1.9 1.1
2024Away 4.54 1.46 69.1 4 5 0 7.9 1.7 1.4
2023Home 4.29 1.14 42.0 1 2 0 7.5 0.9 1.7
2023Away 3.94 1.21 48.0 2 4 0 7.3 1.5 0.9
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Stat Review
How does Zack Littell compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
4.06
 
K/9
6.3
 
BB/9
1.5
 
HR/9
1.7
 
Fastball
91.9 mph
 
ERA
3.81
 
WHIP
1.10
 
BABIP
.258
 
GB/FB
1.12
 
Left On Base
80.3%
 
Exit Velocity
83.9 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
5.9%
 
Spin Rate
1824 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
26.5%
 
Swinging Strike
9.7%
 
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2024
2022
2020
2019
Littell spent time in three different organizations last season and finished it in the Rays' rotation. Just four of the right-hander's 145 career appearances in the majors coming into 2023 came as a starter, so the role change came as a surprise. Even more surprising is that it worked quite well, with Littell collecting a 3.38 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 47:5 K:BB over 64 innings covering 11 starts after moving into the rotation full-time in late July. The Rays had Littell cut back on his four-seamer usage, up his two-seamer usage and begin incorporating a sweeper. Mostly, though, it seems as though they helped him with his mechanics which allowed him to suddenly turn into an elite strike-thrower. Littell would seem to have earned an early leg up on a rotation spot for 2024, but the organization he's in and potential workload concerns might point to more of a swingman role.
Littell was happy to turn the page from an extremely small sample in 2020, when he surrendered five home runs in only 6.1 innings of work. In contrast, Littell recorded a 2.92 ERA and 1.14 WHIP across 61.1 frames in 2021. Part of that success can be attributed to increased velocity, as he averaged 95 mph on his fastball for the first time in his career. In turn, he posted a career-best 13.3% swinging-strike rate and 25 K%. Perhaps most importantly, Littell was able to keep the ball in the yard in 2021 (1.0 HR/9), something that has caused him problems in past seasons and could continue to be an issue due to his relatively heavy flyball lean. Looking ahead to 2022, Littell is unlikely to join the closer mix without significant injuries and struggles to others in the Giants' bullpen. Nevertheless, he has proven capable of turning in solid ratios with some strikeouts and could be relevant in NL-only leagues as well as deeper mixed leagues that reward holds.
Littell improved in his second season with the Twins and could carve out a steady role in the Minnesota bullpen. The 2013 11th-round draft pick -- now with his third organization -- found success at Triple-A and was productive in the majors as well with more of a strikeout punch than he showed in his 2018 stint. He had a 3.71 ERA and 25.7 K% at Triple-A Rochester. That success had him shuttled up and down from Triple-A to add depth to Minnesota's bullpen before he closed out the season in the majors in September. With the Twins, he improved his velocity (93.8 mph average fastball), reduced his walks (6.2%) and kept the ball in the park (0.97 HR/9). He'll need to improve his strikeout rate in the majors to be an impact reliever. Continued progress could lead to a steady role in middle relief.
Littell was a lightly-regarded 11th-round draft pick on his third organization before finding success at Triple-A with the Twins last season, which resulted in a late-season promotion to the majors. He had a 3.57 ERA and decent 8.3 K/9 at Triple-A. Littell struggled in the majors with a 6.20 ERA and just a 6.2 K/9. He has had command issues in the minors (3.4 BB/9 at Triple-A) and those issues were magnified in the majors (4.9 BB/9). He generates some groundballs (43.7%) and has average velocity (91.9 mph), but isn't outstanding enough in any area to project much upside. He'll likely just add rotation depth at Triple-A or work in low-leverage spots out of the bullpen, where he could add a couple ticks to his fastball.
More Fantasy News
Taking ball for Game 2
PCincinnati Reds
September 29, 2025
Littell will start Game 2 of the National League Wild Card Series against the Dodgers on Wednesday, Gordon Wittenmyer of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
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Inefficient in no-decision
PCincinnati Reds
September 27, 2025
Littell came away with a no-decision in Friday's 3-1 win over the Brewers, allowing one run on three hits and two walks over 4.2 innings. He struck out three.
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Earns 10th win
PCincinnati Reds
September 20, 2025
Littell (10-8) earned the win against the Cubs on Saturday, allowing two runs on three hits and one walk with four strikeouts over five innings.
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Allows four runs in no-decision
PCincinnati Reds
September 15, 2025
Littell did not factor into the decision Monday, allowing four runs on five hits and no walks over 5.2 innings against St. Louis. He struck out three.
Analysis
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Bounces back in no-decision
PCincinnati Reds
September 9, 2025
Littell took a no-decision Tuesday against the Padres, allowing two runs on two hits and one walk in six innings. He struck out four.
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Likely trade piece?
PTampa Bay Rays
June 12, 2025
According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, Littell is expected to be scouted heavily ahead of the summer trade deadline.
Analysis
The right-hander's 21 home runs allowed is the most in MLB this season, but he's otherwise pitched well with a 3.84 ERA, 1.11 WHIP and 58:11 K:BB across 86.2 innings. Littell is making $5.72 million this season in his final year of arbitration eligibility, and his expiring contract will be attractive at the deadline, assuming the Rays are willing to offload him.
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