I watched Brendon Little closely last year. By mid-year, it was obvious to me that his "gift" was inducing hitters to swing at pitches outside the strike zone. I kept thinking, "If I were scouting this guy, I'd tell hitters to lay off everything until Little can prove he can throw strikes consistently." People far smarter than me obviously figured this out, and unfortunately, during the rare occasions, when he threw strikes, they were eminently hittable because his fastball is not very good. Otherwise, he was a human walk machine.
This is a long roundabout way of saying that Little should be replaced in the bullpen, soonest way possible. If he's up to it, it's a no-brainer to slot Ricky Tiedemann in as a southpaw specialist. That will reduce the stress on his arm, and better ensure that he doesn't succumb to injury again.
I watched Brendon Little closely last year. By mid-year, it was obvious to me that his "gift" was inducing hitters to swing at pitches outside the strike zone. I kept thinking, "If I were scouting this guy, I'd tell hitters to lay off everything until Little can prove he can throw strikes consistently." People far smarter than me obviously figured this out, and unfortunately, during the rare occasions, when he threw strikes, they were eminently hittable because his fastball is not very good. Otherwise, he was a human walk machine.
This is a long roundabout way of saying that Little should be replaced in the bullpen, soonest way possible. If he's up to it, it's a no-brainer to slot Ricky Tiedemann in as a southpaw specialist. That will reduce the stress on his arm, and better ensure that he doesn't succumb to injury again.