Blue Jays 40-man Roster Review: Brendon Little had the third-highest ground ball percentage in MLB

As it stands, Brendon Little is the only projected left-handed reliever in the Toronto Blue Jays bullpen.

This is Blue Jays Nation’s annual 40-man Roster Review, where we look at the players on the Blue Jays’ 40-man roster. We’ll look at how the player performed in 2024, his season projections for the 2025 season, and any storylines heading into this coming season. In this article, we’ll look at Brendon Little.

Little was selected in the first round of the 2017 draft, a pick after Nate Pearson, by the Chicago Cubs. The left-handed pitcher had a cup of tea in the big leagues with the Cubs in 2022 (ironically facing the Blue Jays) but was traded to Toronto on Nov. 6, 2023, for cash considerations.

Toronto had a good bullpen in 2023, ranking top 10 in ERA, FIP, and strikeout rate. However, it was an utter disaster in 2024, as poor performances, injury, and the long ball plagued the team’s relievers throughout the season. Although Little didn’t start the season in the Jays bullpen, he became a mainstay when he was called up for a second time in early June.

Little returned to the Jays lineup on Jun. 1, replacing the injured Jordan Romano. From that date until the end of the season, the lefty had a 3.19 ERA and a 5.15 FIP in 42.1 innings pitched, with an 18.1 K% and a 10.2 BB%. For the season, the 28-year-old had a 3.74 ERA and a 4.90 FIP in 45.2 innings pitched with an 18.7 BB%.

The left-handed pitcher’s fastball sits 94.5 mph, featuring a curveball and a cutter as secondary pitches. He does a fantastic job of generating ground balls, rocking a 70.9 GB%, the third-highest behind Hunter Brown and Luke Little. Brendon Little also had a respectable whiff % of 29.7%.

According to Fangraphs’ projections, Little is set to have a good season in the Blue Jays rotation. Steamer projects he’ll have a 3.59 ERA and a 3.88 FIP in 58 innings pitched, with a 20.2 K% and a 10.1 BB%. His ground ball percentage is set to drop to 56.7% though. On the other hand, OOPSY has him posting a 3.57 ERA and a 3.77 FIP in 58 innings pitched, with a 21.5 K% and a 10.6 BB%.

The storyline surrounding Little is whether or not he’ll start in the big leagues next season. One area of improvement the Blue Jays have made this off-season is with their relievers, adding Jeff Hoffman, Yimi García, and Nick Sandlin. Moreover, they added another lefty, Josh Walker, to a major league deal, meaning he’s on the 40-man roster. Both Walker and Little have options, but a more established left-handed reliever may be an option as the off-season continues.