Kansas City claimed the hard-throwing southpaw off waivers, betting on his high-strikeout potential despite the command struggles that forced Chicago to part ways with their former prospect.
The Chicago Cubs no longer have left-hander Luke Little in their organization.
After designating Little for assignment on August 3, the Kansas City Royals have picked up the young southpaw. The Royals claimed him on waivers on August 6 and immediately optioned him to Triple-A Omaha.
The Cubs selected Little in the fourth round of the 2020 MLB Draft. He threw 11 innings at the rookie ball level in his first professional season in 2021 before fully breaking out in 2022. The North Carolina native posted a 2.47 ERA with 101 strikeouts in 65 ⅔ innings pitched at Single-A and High-A that year.
Little continued those strong numbers in both the 2023 and 2025 seasons. He finished with a 2.12 ERA and 105 strikeouts in 63 ⅔ innings across High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A in 2023 and had a 2.87 ERA with 75 strikeouts in 59 ⅔ innings with the Iowa Cubs last year.
But things have taken a turn for the worse this season. The 25-year-old southpaw had a 5.03 ERA, 17.9% walk rate, and a 23.2% strikeout rate across 39 ⅓ innings before being designated for assignment earlier this week. The walks were a major problem for him, and things got so bad that the Cubs decided to demote him from Triple-A to Double-A in mid-June.
It’s really unfortunate that things didn’t work out with Little. He showed some encouraging things in his limited big league innings over the years, carrying a 2.97 ERA with 45 strikeouts across 36 ⅓ innings pitched.
His struggles this season, though, forced the Cubs' hand to designate him for assignment. Chicago needed to open up a 40-man roster spot after acquiring both Clay Holmes and Tyrone Taylor from the New York Mets at the trade deadline.
Little will now look for a fresh start with a new organization. The Royals will likely work with the young left-hander on his control on the mound because that’s the biggest concern with his game right now.
He has a 20.4% walk rate at Triple-A this season, had a 13.5% walk rate at Triple-A last year, and has a career 17.6% walk rate in the big leagues. If the Royals can somehow fix that part of his game, there’s a chance he can be a quality bullpen arm in the majors one day.
The Cubs might not have felt that was possible after making the rough decision to designate him for assignment a few days ago.
