Zack

Littell

Littell gave up seven hits, walked none and struck out seven. It was a bit of a mixed bag for Littell. He’ll finish the year 8-10 with a 3.63 ERA, 1.25 WHIP and 141 strikeouts in 156 1/3 innings. Littell isn’t an innings-eater or a big strikeout pitcher. His 4.01 xFIP suggests he’s more of a streaming option than priority target in 2025.

Littell gave up one hit, walked none and struck out seven. The win was his eighth of the year. He continues to punish the Red Sox every time he pitches against them for placing him on waivers in May of 2023. Tampa Bay continues to benefit as Littell has had a solid year in the rotation. He has a 3.56 ERA, 1.24 WHIP and 134 strikeouts in 151 2/3 innings. The 28-year-old right-hander is set to face the Tigers on the road next week.

Littell cut through the Guardians’ lineup like a hot knife through butter in this one. He used his slider as his primary pitch and it was dominant with 10 swings-and-misses. Then came his splitter with five more swings-and-misses. This was Littell’s first start since August 3rd where he threw both his slider and splitter more than his fastball and the result was a beautiful final line plus 18 total swings-and-misses, which tied his career-high for a single start. He’s scheduled to face the Red Sox at home in his next start.

Littell matched Corbin Burnes with five scoreless innings apiece, but the Rays were able to break through against Burnes in the top of the sixth, which allowed Littell to snag the win. The right-hander didn’t allow an extra-base hit, but he also had just six whiffs on 42 swings for a 14 percent whiff rate and 23 percent CSW. It wasn’t an overwhelming start but fantasy managers won’t complain. Littell will take a 3.89 ERA into a tough matchup against the Guardians next week.

Littell’s return from the injured list didn’t go swimmingly as he coughed up seven hits, including a second-inning three-run blast to Trevor Larnach, and also handed out a whopping four free passes as well. Simply put, it wasn’t his sharpest outing from a command standpoint. The 28-year-old righty will carry a serviceable 4.04 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 118/30 K/BB ratio across 133 2/3 innings (25 starts) into a challenging road matchup on Saturday against the Orioles.

Littell is back with rosters expanding, and he’ll make the start Monday against the Twins. Littell ended up missing a little over the minimum 15-day stint with right shoulder fatigue.

Littell was placed on the injured list on August 17, and he’s eligible to come off the injured list Sunday. The 28-year-old is a risky option against the Minnesota lineup, but that risk offers a smidgen of reward with it.

It’s a tough break for fantasy managers as Littell was slated to take the ball on Tuesday against the Athletics, but that’s no longer happening. The 28-year-old righty has rebounded with four straight quality outings since hitting a rough patch in July. Nothing official from the Rays, but given the injury designation, it’s easy to envision him being back by the start of September.

This was Littell’s second time facing the Astros in three starts and the Rays seemed to have scaled back what they asked of him. He was pulled after exactly two revolutions through their batting order despite allowing just one hit and one run. Yet, he’s also already past his career high in innings by 40 and had just three strikeouts versus one walk. This was his fourth straight start allowing one run or fewer as he looks to have put a disastrous July behind him.

The right-hander punched out five batters on the night while issuing just one base on balls. He served up a leadoff homer to Colton Cowser to start the game, then allowed a bloop two-run single by Ryan O’Hearn in the fifth inning to complete the damage against him. Littell got six swings and misses on 90 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of just 22 percent. He’ll look to bounce back as he brings a 4.11 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and a 113/24 K/BB ratio (124 2/3 innings) into Wednesday’s matchup against the Astros.