Chicago Cubs Have Two Young Future Stars To Build Their Bullpen Around

The future of the Chicago Cubs bullpen is in good hands with two emerging stars.

Aug 31, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Porter Hodge (37) throws against the Washington Nationals during the ninth inning at Nationals Park. | Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images

One of the major reasons that the Chicago Cubs struggled to take their performance to the next level during the 2024 season was the lack of success from their bullpen.

In the early going of the campaign, it was a struggle to hold onto leads since the bullpen was not effective. As things moved along during the year, changes were made as the entire relief corps was overhauled.

There are only two players from the Opening Day roster in 2024 in the bullpen that remain with the team; Julian Merryweather and Luke Little.

Some projections have Little beginning the year in Triple-A, but he is someone who has an incredibly bright future with the franchise.

He is one of the players who was highlighted by Stephen J. Nesbitt of The Athletic (subscription required) as an honorable mention on his MLB All-Under-25 team that he put together.

As a rookie in 2024, Little provided the team with solid production, making 30 appearances and pitching 26 innings. He had 28 strikeouts and did a great job of limiting hard contact and generating ground balls at an elite 68.1% clip.

Some work needs to be done dialing in his control, as a 15.8% walk rate is eventually going to catch up to him and hurt his production. With a 28.8% strike out rate, Little has a future as a high-leverage reliever if he can cut down on the free passes.

He isn’t the only young reliever the Cubs should be excited about.

Porter Hodge cemented this status as a late-game option with a stellar rookie campaign in 2024 and made Nesbitt’s All-Under-25 roster.

A 13th-round pick in the 2019 MLB draft out of Cottonwood High School in Salt Lak City, Utah, he made his debut on May 22, 2024 as part of the overhaul that Chicago underwent in the bullpen.

After more moves were made at the deadline, Hodge eventually found his way into the closer’s role, recording nine saves.

Across 39 appearances and 43 innings, he had an incredible 1.88 ERA and struck out 52 batters. He surrendered only two home runs, as opponents recorded an anemic .132/.238/.215 slash line against him.

Not the typical late-game reliever as a triple-digit flamethrower, he finds success with a four-seam fastball and sweeper combination that keeps opposing hitters off balance.

In 2024, they hit .174 and .070 against those two pitches, respectively.

While veteran Ryan Pressly is expected to handle the closer’s duties out of the gate, Hodge is going to assuredly factor into the late-game mix as well.

It would not be a surprise if he is the closer on Opening Day in 2026, as Pressly’s contract expires after this season.

With a little development, Little could be part of the group setting up in front of him.