Little is the 336th former Northwoods League player to debut in MLB
Rochester, Minn. – Former Traverse City Pit Spitter Luke Little made his Major League debut for the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday, September 6, 2023. Little is the 336th former Northwoods League player, and the first Pit Spitter to reach the Major League level.
Little, who played collegiately at San Jacinto College, played for the Pit Spitters in 2019. He was drafted by the Cubs in the 4th round of the 2020 MLB Draft.
In 2019 with the Pit Spitters, Little appeared in 11 games and was 3-0 with a 1.46 ERA. He struck out 22 batters in 12.1 innings.
Little started his professional career in 2021 with the Cubs team in the Arizona Complex League. In five games he was 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA. He struck out 19 in 11.0 innings and had a 1.00 WHIP.
In 2022 Little began the year with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans of the A Level Carolina League. After 20 games he was promoted to the South Bend Cubs of the High-A Midwest League. For the year he was a combined 1-5 with a 2.47 ERA in 24 games. He struck out an incredible 101 batters in 65.2 innings.
Prior to his call-up to the Cubs, Little had started the year in South Bend and then moved up to the Tennessee Smokies of the AA Southern League. After 23 games in Tennessee, he was sent to the Iowa Cubs of the AAA International League. Over 36 games he was 5-2 with a 2.12 ERA and a career-high 105 strikeouts in 63.2 innings. In his Major League debut against the San Francisco Giants Little entered the game in relief in the 9th inning and pitched 1.0 innings allowing no runs on one hit while striking out two.
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The Northwoods League is the proven leader in the development of elite college baseball players. Having completed its’ 30th season, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 24 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires, and front office staff, over 335 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including three-time All-Star and 2016 Roberto Clemente Award winner Curtis Granderson, three-time Cy Young Award winner and World Series Champion Max Scherzer (TEX), two-time World Series Champions Ben Zobrist and Brandon Crawford (SFG) and World Series Champion Chris Sale (BOS). As well as 2019 Rookie of the Year and 2019/2021 Home Run Derby Champion Pete Alonso (NYM) and 2021 All-Star, MLB Gold Glove winner and 2019 Second Team All-MLB shortstop Marcus Semien (TEX). All league games are viewable live via the Northwoods League website at watchnwl.com and on ESPN+. For more information, visit www.northwoodsleague.com or download the Northwoods League Mobile App on the Apple App Store or on Google Play.