Brendon Little

Brendon David Little

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 195 lb.
• School University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota
• High School Conestoga High School
• Debut August 30, 2022

• Born August 11, 1996 in Bryn Mawr, PA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Brendon Little was the 27th pick of the first round of the 2017 amateur draft, by the Chicago Cubs. He had been a 36th round pick by the San Francisco Giants in 2015 amateur draft, but had decided to attend the University of North Carolina instead. However, after his freshman season in 2016, during which he hardly pitched, he decided to transfer to Manatee State College in order to showcase himself in front of scouts. Nate Pearson, who was drafted immediately after him, had made a similar decision, leaving a top-rated NCAA Division I program in order to get more opportunity to pitch at the junior college level, and in both cases it worked. He was rated as having three above-average pitches, but his lack of college experience made him a still raw prospect who would need more minor league innings that the average first-rounder to reach the majors.

Little's first professional experience was with the Eugene Emeralds of the Northwest League in 2017 where he went 0-2, 9.37 in 6 starts. In 2018, he was with the South Bend Cubs of the Northwest League, where he went 5-11, 5.15 in 22 games and 101 1/3 innings. He then suffered a setback in 2019, as he was sidelined by a lat strain at the start of the season and the injury limited him to 12 games, including a couple of rehabilitation outings with the AZL Cubs 1. He did well with South Bend, going 0-1, 1.91 in 6 starts, but was again hit hard with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the Carolina League where he was 2-1, 5.95 in 4 starts. A lack of consistency was the biggest issue plaguing him in his first three professional seasons. He then sat out the 2020 season when the minor leagues were shut down by the Coronavirus pandemic, as he had not yet shown enough to be given one of the precious spots at the team's alternate training site.

In 2021, he pitched 26 times in relief between the AA Tennessee Smokies and AAA Iowa Cubs, going 0-1, 3.24 with 3 saves. He struck out 53 batters in 41 2/3 innings. That earned him a chance to go to spring training as a non-roster invitee in 2022. Back with Iowa, he was 3-3, 4.15 with 1 save in 29 outings when circumstances dictated that he join the big league squad earlier than planned, leading to his making his major league debut against the Toronto Blue Jays at the Rogers Centre on August 30th. He was one of three players added to the Cubs' roster to replace three others who had to be placed on the restricted list for being unvaccinated and thus unable to enter Canada. He pitched two-thirds of an inning in relief of Marcus Stroman, entering the game in the top of the 6th but gave up 3 runs on 2 hits and a walk, with all three runs scoring on a homer by Teoscar Hernandez, to be charged with the 5-3 loss. Another one of the three new players, P Jeremiah Estrada, also made his big league debut later in that game. It was his only major league appearance of the season.

In 2023, he spent the year with AAA Iowa, going 3-3, 4.05 in 50 games, including 2 starts; he also picked up a save. He also struck out 73 batters in 73 1/3 innings. Following the season, he was purchased by the Toronto Blue Jays on November 6th and started the 2024 season with the AAA Buffalo Bisons. He was 0-1, 2.89 after 9 outings when he was called up to Toronto on April 25th to take the place of Bowden Francis, who had just been put on the injured list.

Related Sites

• Brendon Little on mlb.com
• BR Minors page