Zack Littell

Zack Littell

29-Year-Old PitcherSP
Tampa Bay Rays
2024 Fantasy Outlook
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. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#331
ADP
$Signed a one-year, $1.85 million contract with the Rays in January of 2024.
Fans seven in defeat
PTampa Bay Rays
September 25, 2024
Littell (8-10) took the loss Wednesday against Detroit, allowing three earned runs on seven hits and zero walks while striking out seven in 4.2 innings.
ANALYSIS
Entering Wednesday's action on an 18-inning scoreless streak, Littell immediately served up a leadoff home run to Parker Meadows in the first. Littell was able to settle in afterwards, but the Rays' offense only mustered one run of support in the 7-1 defeat. After starting 18 games over the first six years of his career, Littell started 29 contests for the Rays in 2024, posting a respectable 3.63 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 141:31 K:BB in 156.1 innings (29 starts).
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Pitching Stats
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2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
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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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
86
Last 10 Games
85
Last 5 Games
83
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 2022
 
 
-12%
BAA vs LHP
2024
 
 
-4%
BAA vs LHP
2023
 
 
-19%
BAA vs LHP
2022
 
 
-26%
BAA vs LHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2022vs Left .249 604 126 35 140 34 2 20
Since 2022vs Right .282 621 128 21 166 25 2 23
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
2022vs Left .220 59 12 7 11 3 0 2
2022vs Right .298 131 27 6 37 7 1 6
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-14%
ERA at Home
2024
 
 
-36%
ERA at Home
2023
 
 
-8%
ERA on Road
2022
 
 
-31%
ERA on Road
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2022Home 3.71 1.19 148.0 6 9 0 7.8 1.7 1.3
Since 2022Away 4.29 1.30 142.2 8 10 1 7.9 1.8 1.4
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
2022Home 6.16 1.79 19.0 1 2 0 6.6 2.8 0.9
2022Away 4.26 1.07 25.1 2 1 1 8.9 2.5 2.1
More Splits View More Split Stats
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
4.55
 
K/9
8.1
 
BB/9
1.8
 
HR/9
1.3
 
Fastball
92.2 mph
 
ERA
3.63
 
WHIP
1.25
 
BABIP
.321
 
GB/FB
0.90
 
Left On Base
77.3%
 
Exit Velocity
82.0 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
5.6%
 
Spin Rate
1864 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
22.9%
 
Swinging Strike
11.3%
 
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
2022
2020
2019
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
Posts another scoreless start
PTampa Bay Rays
September 19, 2024
Littell (8-9) earned the win over Boston on Thursday, allowing one hit and recording seven strikeouts without issuing a walk over seven scoreless innings.
ANALYSIS
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Cruises to seventh win
PTampa Bay Rays
September 13, 2024
Littell (7-9) earned the win Friday against the Guardians, pitching six scoreless innings while allowing two hits and no walks. He struck out five.
ANALYSIS
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Five shutout innings in win
PTampa Bay Rays
September 8, 2024
Littell (6-9) threw five scoreless innings to pick up the win Sunday against Baltimore, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out four.
ANALYSIS
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Allows four runs in return
PTampa Bay Rays
September 2, 2024
Littell (5-9) took the loss against the Twins on Monday, allowing four runs on seven hits and four walks with two strikeouts over four innings.
ANALYSIS
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Returns from IL, starting Monday
PTampa Bay Rays
September 1, 2024
The Rays reinstated Littell (shoulder) from the 15-day injured list Sunday, and he's scheduled to start Monday against the Twins, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Deadline deal incoming?
PTampa Bay Rays
July 30, 2024
Joel Sherman of the New York Post labeled Littell as the remaining Rays player most likely to be traded ahead of Tuesday's 6 p.m. ET trade deadline.
ANALYSIS
Tampa Bay has already traded away a good chunk of its roster over the past couple weeks, but it may not be finished on deadline day. Little has been a serviceable starter this year with a 4.18 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 105:22 K:BB across 114 innings. He's also under team control for 2025 and would likely bring a decent return, given the current market.
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