Zack Littell Changes Role, Changes Mindset

Littell pitched an amazing two innings against one of the best hitting teams on the planet. Mega-kudos to him, and of course, the faithful here at Twins Daily are pulling for him. (I liked his approach against the BoSox. Just come right after the hitters. Let the 97 mph fastball do its work. He deserved the win just as much as anyone else and I'm glad he got it.)

He would not be the first failed Twins starter to come back and be a worthy relief pitcher.

Hopefully the Twins actually keep one of them around this time!

He and Duffy seem to be some development success stories. If those two and May can pitch the way they did last night it'll take some pressure off the blue chip fireman they bring in on a trade!

I know Twins fans haven't come away impressed with his prior performances with the big club, but he's been doing his thing down on the farm. Here's where he ranks among the 86 Triple-A pitchers with at least 50 innings this year:

 

ERA: 17th

WHIP: 13th

K%: 8th

I haven't been disappointed in his performance, Tom.  Yes, he had that ugly inning or two when he sucked it up and gave the Twins many innings in that one ugly loss.  

But I remember what I think was his first appearance.  Saw him pitching in the mid 90's and even touching 96...if memory serves.  Watched him and thought could this kid develop into something like Joe Nathan was?  Still don't know what his future holds, but I am hopeful.  Will he be an answer this year, maybe part of the answer.

Well, you make it to the majors as a starter or a bullpen arm. We forget names like Eddie Guardado, LaTroy Hawkins, Glen Perkins amongst others were initially rotation guys. 

And if your stuff shines, you can be a closer candidate.

Littell is still so young (there are guys close to age starting their careers at Eliz right now). 

Now, fix Romero!

Add Littell to the stable of Twins relievers that includes Duffey and May. Mid-90's fastball and a good breaking pitch. If they can throw these for strikes, they will be tremendous assets out of the bullpen.

There is a rich tradition in the Twins organization of getting their best relievers from within, and often by converting starters to relief roles: Perkins, Guardado, Nathan, Agiuilera. 

I don't think anybody predicted the success the above 4 had as closers after they got their first save, so who knows how far Littell, Rogers, May and Co. can go.

Add Littell to the stable of Twins relievers that includes Duffey and May. Mid-90's fastball and a good breaking pitch. If they can throw these for strikes, they will be tremendous assets out of the bullpen.

That's the key. Last night he went right after the hitters.

Har, Littell looked very, very good last night. I like the cut of his jib, the luff of his spinnaker, the twist of his marl! Salty sea dog look, has he. Hard tack and brine for breakfast! Salt pork and a swig o rum! He's a yeoman, says I. Yo man, toss that ball past yon scalawag, the Boston boy wavin' a stick at yer mates, and so he did, and it whiffed like wind through scaffold! Littell's got the look of a man wants work, says I. Put him to work, and see how he fares!

Aw, shucks. I thought I was going to be the first to come up with a Joe Nathan comparison, but you beat me. 

 

Crucial question -- does Littell do that bpbpbpbpb thing with his mouth when he exhales while he's getting the sign like Nathan did? Because if he does, I am completely on board.

If you can go back and find my comment, I actually used that comparison after his first outing whenever that was.  Something about the way he acted on the mound, getting his fastball into the upper 90's and being a former starter hit a note that said Nathan to me.  Probably also some wishful thinking, but what the heck.

Not just the Twins. I love starters turned relievers, the Twins should be targeting these guys from other clubs.

 

Some were only perceived to only have iffy stuff or control at best, some were busted prospects, some were forced into the role, but just some of the guys who came up as starters or were starters in the minors just prior to their call up: Josh Hader, Brad Hand, Will Smith, Raisel Iglesias, Edwin Diaz, Zach Britton, Blake Treinen, Hansel Robles, Felipe Vazquez, Roberto Osuna, Andrew Miller, Delin Betances, Wade Davis, Ian Kennedy, John Gant, Trevor Rosenthal, Jake MaGee, Jeurys Familia, Alex Colome.

 

The Twins should never be letting a guy like Liam Hendricks out of the building before seeing what he has out of the pen first. The list of top bullpen arms is a who's-who of former starters.

All clubs are aware of this - most MLB pitchers by definition were good enough to start at lower levels of play. Pitchers throw short bullpen sessions as part of their routine, so management knows if someone looks sharp in short stints. Sometimes a guy like Hendriks just improves after he moves on to another organization. 

The actual exception is when a minor league reliever pans out - they are generally seen as dubious prospects.

Atta Littell.

I hope he continues to deserve to be here.

Pretty broad use of "from within". The Twins traded for both Nathan and Aguilera and to my knowledge, they were always used out of the bullpen for the Twins. I know Aguilera left Minny as a free agent and was used as a starter after he had done well here. 

Broad, I suppose.

With Nathan the Twins were getting a 29 year old that SF had converted to the pen just the year before and was serving as the 7th inning guy in a stacked bullpen. He notched 1 lone save as a Giant, his rookie season, then boom, 44 his first year with the Twins. Aguilera was used only as a starter his first season with the Twins before moving to the pen season 2, although the Mets may have started that transition when the Twins acquired him.

"From within" meaning they were here, acquired with multiple other pieces in big trades in which they weren't the principal piece, and they had very little to no history of being a big time closer. 

"... honestly, whatever keeps me here and helps these guys win. Nobody doesn’t want to be a part of this."

 

Double-negative aside, something about that quote just struck me and made me smile. I imagine that sentiment is so accurate. There's a team full of guys in Rochester (and probably quite a few in Pensacola) who are just dying to be a part of what the Twins have going this year.

 

Sure, they ALL want to get to the Show, anyway. But this year, in particular, they all know (and several have seen first hand) that something special is going on at Target Field and they all want to be part of it.

Hey, it worked for Sara Lee.