Brendon David Little (born August 11, 1996) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

in the Chicago Cubs organization. He made his

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

debut with the Cubs in 2022.

Amateur career

Little graduated from Conestoga High School in 2015. He was drafted by the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

in the 36th round of the 2015 MLB draft, but he chose not to sign and instead decided to enroll at the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

. After appearing in only four games as a freshman in 2016, he transferred to the

State College of Florida, Manatee–Sarasota State College of Florida, Manatee–Sarasota (SCF) is a public college with campuses in the Manatee and Sarasota counties of Florida. Part of the Florida College System, it is designated a "state college" because it offers a greater number of ba ...

. In 2016, he played collegiate summer baseball with the

Bourne Braves The Bourne Braves are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Bourne, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Braves play their home games at Doran Park on the ca ...

of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was named a league all-star. In 2017, his sophomore year, he went 5–3 with a 2.53 ERA in 15 starts.

Professional career

After his sophomore season, Little was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the first round of the

2017 MLB draft The 2017 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 12, 2017. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first 36 picks, including the first round and compensatory picks, were broadcast on MLB Network on J ...

. He signed, and was assigned to the

Eugene Emeralds The Eugene Emeralds (nicknamed the Ems) are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Eugene, Oregon. The Emeralds are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants. Eugene plays thei ...

, where he went 0–2 with a 9.37 ERA in six starts. Little spent the 2018 season with the

South Bend Cubs The South Bend Cubs are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They are located in South Bend, Indiana, and play their home games at Four Winds Field at Coveleski Stadium. The team was o ...

, compiling a 5–11 record with 5.15 ERA in 22 games (21 starts). Little began 2019 with the

Myrtle Beach Pelicans The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at TicketReturn.com Field, which open ...

on the injured list. After being activated from the IL, he returned to South Bend before being promoted back to Myrtle Beach. Over six starts with South Bend, he compiled a 1.91 ERA, and over four starts with the Pelicans, he went 2–1 with a 5.95 ERA. Little did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. In 2021, he saw action as a reliever, pitching with the

Tennessee Smokies The Tennessee Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Kodak, Tennessee, a suburb of Knoxville. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. They play at Smokies Stadium, directly off ...

and Iowa Cubs for the majority of the season. He found relative success in this new role, accruing a 3.24 ERA across 26 games with 53 strikeouts. On August 30, 2022, the Cubs selected Little's contract and promoted him to the major leagues. He made his MLB debut that day, pitching against the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

. On September 1, 2022, Little was returned back to Triple-A Iowa.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Little, Brendon 1996 births Living people Arizona League Cubs players Baseball players from Pennsylvania Bourne Braves players Chicago Cubs players Eugene Emeralds players Iowa Cubs players Major League Baseball pitchers Mesa Solar Sox players Myrtle Beach Pelicans players North Carolina Tar Heels baseball players People from Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania SCF Manatees baseball players South Bend Cubs players Tennessee Smokies players