- Full name Christian Xavier Little
- Born 07/05/2003 in St. Louis, MO
- Profile Ht.: 6'4" / Wt.: 210 / Bats: R / Throws: R
- School Louisiana State
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Drafted in the 11th round (333rd overall) by the Seattle Mariners in 2024 (signed for $200,000).
View Draft Report
School: LSU
Commit/Drafted: Mets ’23 (19)
Age at Draft: 21.0
Little has been a well-known pitching prospect since he established himself as one of the most talented arms in the 2021 high school class. Before that draft he enrolled early at Vanderbilt where he pitched for two seasons before transferring to LSU in 2023. Little has flashed impressive pure arm talent at times throughout his four-year college career but never quite put things together as expected. The Mets drafted him in the 19th round in 2023 but he didn’t sign and instead went back to LSU where he pitched exclusively out of the bullpen for the first time in his career. Little has a five-pitch mix of quality offerings starting with a riding fastball that averaged 94-95 mph and has been up to 99. He developed an upper-80s cutter in college that has become a large part of his arsenal and accounted for nearly a third of his pitch usage in 2024. Little also throws an upper 70s curveball, mid-80s slider and mid-80s changeup. He’s consistently been a below-average strike thrower so he most likely fits as a reliever, though given the depth of his pitch mix some clubs might give him a chance to start in pro ball. Little has an unusual profile given his quality stuff and age for a senior—he turns 21 just before the draft—but there’s exciting upside potential still for a team who can help him gain more consistency.
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Draft Prospects
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School: Louisiana State Source: 4YR
Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 20
Little was regarded as one of the top prep pitching prospects in the 2021 class, but instead of finishing his high school career in the usual fashion, he enrolled early at Vanderbilt, where he started 11 games as a 17-year-old freshman and then pitched mostly out of the bullpen in 2022. Following the season, Little transferred from Vanderbilt to Louisiana State, where he had the worst season of his career and posted a 7.09 ERA as a split starter and reliever over 33 innings. Little never established himself in a defined role for the Tigers and largely fell out of the rotation down the stretch as the team went to the College World Series finals. While he hasn’t gotten everything to click in any season in college, he has plenty of pure stuff from a large and physical 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame. Little averaged 94 mph on a high-spin fastball that has plus vertical break, and he’s been up to 97-98 mph in the past. Instead of the four-seam, Little primarily pitched off of an upper-80s cutter this spring, which had a 42% miss rate that nearly doubled the 22% rate of his fastball. His primary breaking ball is an upper-70s curveball with 11-to-5 shape and solid depth, and he also has a harder, mid-80s slider with more of a horizontal shape. Little rounds out his pitch mix with a mid-80s changeup. There’s no doubting the pure stuff, and Little has solid pitch characteristics that a pro team might be able to unlock in an environment where his development is the priority—making him an intriguing day two flier who is also on the younger end for the college class, turning 20 just a few days before the draft.
