Command concerns plague Luke Little’s quest for a Cubs bullpen spot. Can he conquer walks to secure his Opening Day roster bid?
The Chicago Cubs are looking for one reliever to step up this spring.
With one bullpen spot up for grabs on the roster ahead of the 2026 season, an ongoing battle is currently taking place between several Cubs relievers in Spring Training. This battle likely won’t be decided until a few days before Opening Day.
Relievers like Ben Brown, Javier Assad, Porter Hodge, Gavin Hollowell, Ryan Rolison, Jack Neely, and Ethan Roberts are all in the mix to earn that final bullpen spot. Left-handed reliever Luke Little is also someone the Cubs are likely looking at, too.
Little has spent some time in the Major Leagues in recent years. Although he only pitched 2 ⅔ innings with the Cubs last season, the southpaw had a 3.46 ERA across 26 innings pitched for Chicago during the 2024 campaign.
The 25-year-old has definitely shown some nice things throughout both the big leagues and Minor Leagues over the last two years. In 2025, Little finished with a 2.87 ERA and 75 strikeouts across 59 ⅔ innings pitched with Triple-A Iowa.
He posted solid numbers throughout that Minor League season, with the metrics to back it up. The left-hander ranked in the 80th percentile or better in expected batting average against (.182), strikeout rate (29.8%), expected slugging (.269), and zone swing rate (58.8%).
However, the biggest knock on Little is his poor command on the mound. He had a 13.5% walk rate in his 34 Triple-A appearances last year and walked six batters in only 2 ⅔ innings with the Cubs in 2025.
That poor command remains an issue for Little this spring.
Back on February 25 against the Rockies, Little walked the second batter he faced in the top of the eighth inning. Then, everything kind of unraveled from there. He gave up a double, a home run, issued another walk, a single, and another single. Those walks led to the left-hander giving up five runs (four earned runs) across ⅔ of an inning.
He was also a bit out of control in Thursday’s Spring Training game against the Diamondbacks. He walked two of the first three batters he faced before getting out of the inning unscathed.
For a pitcher who is currently on the roster bubble, the walks are not a great sign for Little so far. That was the biggest concern surrounding him heading into the spring, and there hasn’t been noticeable improvement in that department yet.
Little simply has to throw more strikes if he wants a shot at making the Cubs’ Opening Day roster. If he continues to struggle in this area, he will almost certainly begin the year down in Triple-A.