85-72 is the team\u2019s projected record, heading into the end of our profile series. Luke Little, hopefully to reside in the major-league bullpen before too long, is up this time, and then we\u2019ll finish with a look at Keegan Thompson.<\/p>\n
Luke Little, all 6\u20198\u201d of him, is the No. 2 left-handed reliever in the Cubs\u2019 system, with only Caleb Thielbar ahead of him. A healthy Little, throwing 100 mile per hour darts past southpaw batters, is what the Cubs are looking for, and Little has fulfilled part of that promise \u2014 he\u2019s effective enough when he\u2019s on the hill, but isn\u2019t there enough. Jordan Wicks might hold his space for a bit if the Cubs decide to utilize a second lefthander in the pen, but he\u2019s very likely to be Iowa-bound after that, if indeed that is the case.<\/p>\n
The 24-year-old Little could come into his own this year. He bears a lifetime 2.76 ERA, with 40 strikeouts in 32\u2154 innings, and a WHIP of 1.29.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s good stuff. One lonely home run, 22 walks. He just needs to be out there more. Little is a powerful presence to bring in late, with Thielbar maybe long\/middle, and would definitely strengthen the bullpen if and when he heals from his lat injury.<\/p>\n
Luke Little suffers injury [VIDEO].<\/p>\n
Little is just starting to throw the ball in bp, so it\u2019s going to be a bit. It would surprise nobody if he did a spell on the Injured list before getting going.<\/p>\n
But, when he does heal, there\u2019s considerable expectation attached to his work. The top end for him is Aroldis Chapman\/Josh Hader. he\u2019ll most likely be somewhat less effective than that, but he can be a beast, and I for one look forward to it.<\/p>\n
Projection systems have Little at 2-2, and we\u2019ll work with that figure, getting us to 87-74<\/strong> for the year, based on projections for the entire 40-man pitching staff, with two pitchers left to go.<\/p>\n Little will deploy his fastball, slider and the occasional splitter in the Cubs\u2019 cause at some point this season. Lat injuries are tricky to come back from, like obliques.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll see him then, after developments. Thanks for reading.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Big Luke has a strong likelihood of ending up in the Chicago pen. How long it takes is the question.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":41291,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\n