Zachary Stuart Littell (born October 5, 1995) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team is named afte ...

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

, and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

. Littell was drafted by the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

in the 11th round of the

2013 MLB draft The 2013 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in reverse order of t ...

and made his MLB debut with the Twins in 2018.

Early life

Littell attended Eastern Alamance High School in

Mebane, North Carolina Mebane ( ) is a city located mostly in Alamance County, North Carolina, United States, and partly in Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County. The town was named for Alexander Mebane, an American Revolutionary War general and member of the U ...

Professional career

Seattle Mariners (2013–17)

Littell was drafted by the

in the 11th round of the

2013 Major League Baseball draft The 2013 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in reverse order of ...

. He signed with Seattle, forgoing his commitment to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

Appalachian State University Appalachian State University (), or App State, is a Public university, public research university in Boone, North Carolina, United States. It was founded as a normal school, teachers' college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and th ...

. Littell made his professional debut with the Rookie-level

Arizona League Mariners The Arizona Complex League Mariners are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The team is comp ...

. He was 0–6 with a 5.94

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) and a 1.560

walks plus hits per inning pitched In baseball statistics, walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) is a Sabermetrics, sabermetric measurement of the number of Baserunning#Becoming a runner, baserunners a pitcher has allowed per Innings pitched, inning pitched. WHIP is calculate ...

(WHIP) in

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

s in 2013. He pitched in 2014 for the Advanced Rookie League Pulaski Mariners, going 5–5 with a 4.52 ERA in 13 starts. Littell pitched in 2015 for the Single-A

Clinton LumberKings The Clinton LumberKings are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Clinton, Iowa, and play their home games at NelsonCorp Field. From 1956 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest Leag ...

, compiling a 3–6 record and 3.91 ERA in 21 starts. He started 2016 with Clinton, and was promoted to the

Bakersfield Blaze The Bakersfield Blaze were a minor league baseball team in Bakersfield, California. They played in the California League at the Class A-Advanced level, hosting home games at Sam Lynn Ballpark. Opened in 1941, the stadium is well known for facing ...

in July. In 28 total games (27 starts) between the two clubs, Littell collected a 13–6 record, 2.66 ERA, and 1.16 WHIP.

New York Yankees (2017)

On November 18, 2016, the Mariners traded Littell to the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

in exchange for pitcher James Pazos. Littell started 2017 with the

Tampa Yankees Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the county seat of Hillsborough C ...

and was promoted to the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the D ...

in late June.

Minnesota Twins (2017–20)

On July 30, 2017, the Yankees traded Littell and pitcher Dietrich Enns to the

in exchange for pitcher Jaime García and cash considerations. The Twins then assigned him to the

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home g ...

where he finished the season. In 27 total games (25 starts) between Tampa, Trenton, and Chattanooga, he went 19–1 with a 2.12 ERA and 1.12 WHIP. On November 20, 2017, the Twins added Littell to their

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

to protect him from the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. Littell made his MLB debut on June 5, 2018. In eight games in the majors in 2018, Littell went 0–2 with a 6.20 ERA, 25 hits, 14 strikeouts, and 11 walks in innings. In the minors, he was 6–9 with a 3.98 ERA and a 1.357 WHIP. Littell moved to the bullpen full time in 2019. He went 6–0 in 29 games with a 2.68 ERA, 32 K, and 9 BB in 37 innings, while in the minors in 63 innings, he was 3–3 with a 3.71 ERA and 25 walks. He had a hard-hit rate of 52.5%. In 2020 in innings he gave up five home runs among 12 hits. He had a 9.95 ERA with a 2.368 WHIP.Tulsa Drillers on X
/ref> On September 17, 2020, Littell was outrighted off the 40-man roster. He became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

on November 2.

San Francisco Giants (2021–22)

On February 3, 2021, Littell signed a minor league contract with the

, and received an invitation to spring training. The Giants promoted him to the major leagues on April 30. In the 2021 regular season, Littell was 4–0 with a 2.92 ERA in 63 games (2 starts) covering innings in which he struck out 63 batters with the Giants; with Triple-A Sacramento, he had a 9.00 ERA. His hard-hit percentage of 46.0% was in the bottom (worst) 5% of major league pitchers. On September 13, 2022, Giants manager

Gabe Kapler Gabriel Stefan Kapler (born July 31, 1975), nicknamed "Kap", is an American former professional baseball outfielder and manager who serves as the assistant general manager of the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). Kapler was a 57th- ...

came to the

pitcher's mound A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refer ...

to remove Littell from a game, after Littell had given up two

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

s on three hits and a walk on only 15 pitches. Littell slammed the ball into Kapler's hand and angrily told Kapler he wanted to remain in the game. The next day, the Giants demoted him to the Triple-A

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland ...

. In 2022, Littell was 3–3 with a 5.08 ERA and a 1.376 WHIP with the Giants. He was 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA with Triple-A Sacramento. The Giants waived him off the 40-man roster on November 9, 2022. When no team chose to pick him up, the Giants outrighted him to Sacramento. He elected free agency on November 10.

Texas Rangers (2023)

On January 12, 2023, Littell signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers organization. He began the year with the Triple-A

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home ...

, for whom he made eight appearances and recorded a 2.25 ERA with 16 strikeouts in 12.0 innings pitched. The Rangers never called him up from the minor leagues.

Boston Red Sox (2023)

On May 5, 2023, Littell was traded to the

in exchange for cash considerations. He was selected to Boston's active roster the next day. In two relief appearances for Boston, he surrendered three hits, three walks, and three runs in three innings pitched, for a 9.00 ERA. Littell was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

on May 10, five days after being acquired.

Tampa Bay Rays (2023–present)

On May 12, 2023, Littell was claimed off waivers by the

. He pitched for both the Triple–A

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

(with whom he was 0-1 with an 18.00 ERA) and the Rays, which converted him into a starting pitcher. On August 4, he threw a career-high 6 innings, allowing no runs and earning a win against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

. He ended the season 3-6, with a 4.10 ERA and 74 strikeouts between the two major league teams. In 2024, Littell would make 29 starts for the Rays, posting a 3.63 ERA on the season with an 8-10 record and 141 strikeouts. Littell led the Rays in innings pitched for the season. On May 31, 2025, Littell pitched a complete game against the Houston Astros; Littell gave up 10 hits and three earned runs while throwing 117 pitches.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Littell, Zack 1995 births Living people Arizona League Mariners players Bakersfield Blaze players Baseball players from Alamance County, North Carolina Boston Red Sox players Chattanooga Lookouts players Clinton LumberKings players Durham Bulls players Major League Baseball pitchers Minnesota Twins players People from Mebane, North Carolina Pulaski Mariners players Rochester Red Wings players Round Rock Express players Sacramento River Cats players San Francisco Giants players Tampa Bay Rays players Tampa Yankees players Trenton Thunder players