College Baseball Daily continues our countdown to the start of the 2013 college baseball season by checking in on the Top 100 Players in the country. We will be adding players day-by-day until we get to number one!
Number 44 on our Top 100 Countdown is Kentucky’s Corey Littrell. The 6’3 left-handed pitcher from Louisville, Kentucky was a 35th-round draft pick in 2010 by the Nationals.
As a freshman in 2011, Littrell made 16 appearances for the Wildcats, 13 of which were starts. Throughout the season he posted a record of 6-6 with an ERA of 6.95. In his 68.2 innings pitched he struck out 51 batters. In 2012, Littrell had a stand-out sophomore season. He started all 16 games in which he appeared, posting a record of 9-2. In his 98.2 innings pitched he posted an ERA of 2.74 while walking 25 batters and striking out 87. His nine wins rank fourth-most in Kentucky history. Littrell’s success earned him Second Team All-SEC honors as well as the Rawlings Gold Glove Award as the nation’s top defensive pitcher.
From a scouting perspective, Littrell has a solid repertoire with quite a bit of variety. His fastball sits in the low 90s with good potential to increase velocity as his frame fills out more, however his best pitch is his change-up. His changeup sits in the low 80s and he’s mastered it well enough that he can use it regardless of the count,which really works to his advantage. As Littrell continues to fill out his frame and improve upon his slider and curve, he has a great opportunity to continue to improve exponentially. The adjustments he’s made between his freshman and sophomore years has already shown a glimpse into his ability to continuously improve which leaves a lot to the imagination on just how strong of a pitcher Littrell can be, making him one of the top players to watch for in 2013.
You can check out the rest of our Top 100 by clicking here.
