After signing with the club a few days ago, Zack Littell made his first start of the spring last night. His three innings of work gave Nats fans a taste of what they should expect from him. There was some hard contact, but he pounded the zone, was efficient and fired three innings of one run ball.
For a guy who signed just a few days ago, Littell looked sharp. His velocity was down by about a tick, but that is not very surprising to me. He signed late and still needs time to build up.
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Littell is confident that his velocity will be in a good spot by the time the season is under way. He said, “As I continue to get everything in sync, the timing gets better, the body continues to organize itself better, everything should continue to get sharper”. The way he talked about his mechanics and getting his body aligned is very interesting to me. It shows the importance of mechanics and the way a pitcher moves.
From talking to him, it is clear that Littell is very hard on himself. Despite using his splitter effectively last night, he was not happy with his signature pitch. He actually thought the splitter was his worst pitch last night. Littell thought his command of the pitch was solid, but he did not love the movement profile of his splitter.
That splitter is a big part of why Littell transformed from a middling reliever to a solid middle of the rotation starter. The Rays had him bump up the usage of the pitch, and it has become his best offering. He does a great job killing spin and getting that downward tumble.
For his part, Blake Butera thought Littell “threw the ball well”. Butera loved how much his right hander was pounding the zone and getting ahead of hitters. After all, those are the attributes that make Littell such a solid pitcher. However, Butera knows that Littell’s mind-set, calling him “A perfectionist who expects really good stuff out of himself”.
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While Littell may not have been satisfied, I think this was a good first start. He got through three innings and threw 15 more pitches in the bullpen to continue his ramp up. As we get closer to the season, I would also expect his stuff to keep ticking up. It can be tough to sign late, but I think Littell came just in time to have at least a somewhat normal spring.
Honestly, Littell is an optimized version of what the Nats want in their pitchers. He can throw any pitch in any count and has a deep arsenal. Last year, Littell’s two most used pitches were his slider and splitter. That matches well with the Nats new pitching approach.
Littell actually got his two strikeouts on those offerings. He struck out the first batter he faced by freezing him on a slider. There is actually a cool video I found from behind home plate of that pitch.
By the deadline, Littell may be trade bait, but he should stabilize the rotation while he is around. He is a no-nonsense righty who pounds the zone with a variety of different pitches. Littell got through three innings on just 39 pitches, which is something I love. Being efficient and getting deep into games is something he excels at despite being a reliever only a couple years ago.
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Of his 39 pitches, 28 were strikes. He did not walk anybody and only got into one three ball count. Littell may give up some extra base hits, but he will give the Nats length while keeping them in the game. That is exactly what this team needs and why I think he is a great signing for the Nats.
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