Twins Recall Pitching Prospect Zack Littell After Inconsistent Start to Season
By Adam Weinrib
The prize of the Jaime Garcia trade from 2017 is headed back to the show for Minnesota.
Though Zack Littell's deceptive stuff hasn't been finding the catcher's glove quite so often since he switched organizations nearly two years ago, the Twins are giving him another shot at the bigs. He's been promoted, with Austin Adams being DFA'd as the corresponding move.
Roster Moves: #MNTwins recall RHP Zack Littell from Triple-A. pic.twitter.com/viErWeeu9w
— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) May 24, 2019
Littell was flat dominant when he first arrived in Minny's system in 2017, posting a combined 19-1 record and 2.12 ERA across High-A and Double-A in two different organizations.
His non-power fastball declined a bit in effectiveness in 2018, however, but he did post a 3.57 mark in Triple-A, before scuffling to a 6.20 mark in eight big league outings. He's opened this frame with a 4.19 mark in seven starts, but has earned a second chance at a first impression anyway (perhaps out of the bullpen, eventually).
Not sure if this is a viable comparison or not, but I feel like Zack Littell has the chance to be a Liam Hendriks-type weapon out of the bullpen. Hendriks has been awesome as a reliever since leaving MIN. #MNTwins
— Nick Nelson (@NickNelsonMN) May 24, 2019
Littell still ranks 21st on MLB Pipeline's Top 30 Twins prospects list.