Zack Littell Has Quietly Turned Things Around, Which Is Huge for Nationals

Zack Littell was signed by the Washington Nationals to be a steady rotation presence for them.

After two consecutive seasons where the right-hander posted sub-4.00 ERAs while throwing over 150 innings in each of those campaigns, the 30-year-old looked like a perfect candidate for the Nationals since they needed major league-caliber arms during the early stages of their new rebuild.

But the marriage did not get off to a good start. Littell had an ERA of 7.85 entering May. It looked like this signing was a bust. However, he has quietly put together three consecutive good outings this month with an ERA of 2.13 across 12 2/3 innings pitched. And that is huge for this franchise as they continue to look toward the future.

Zack Littell Is Starting to Improve His Trade Value

Washington Nationals pitcher Zack Littell | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The biggest development for Washington when it comes to Littell's recent form is that he has started to improve his trade value. While some might scoff at the thought that he could fetch anything of value, it should be pointed out that Michael Soroka netted the Nationals top 30 prospects Christian Franklin and Ronny Cruz -- the latter of which looks like a possible future superstar -- after he had a 3-8 record and an ERA of 4.87 across 16 starts.

Someone is going to be interested in Littell ahead of the deadline this year, but what Washington gets in return will depend on if this recent turnaround is real. The veteran righty stated on multiple occasions that he knew what needed to be done to get back on track. And after a rough start to the season, it seems like that is now taking place.

An even better sign for the Nationals is that he returned to a starting role during his latest appearance on May 15 after having an opener throw in front of him during his previous two. During that start, he had the best outing of his season. He threw five scoreless innings where he only allowed two hits. He also secured the win -- his second of the month and his second of the year -- and got Washington off to a good start in this Beltway Rivalry.

If he can continue this form, that will be massive for the Nationals and their new front office as they try to add more young talent to their organization in the coming months.

Improvement of Zack Littell Allows for Further Minor League Development

Because Washington signed Littell to a one-year, $7 million contract, they were going to keep trotting him out there until it was clear that could no longer be on the roster. So despite his early struggles, he wasn't in danger of losing his roster spot. However, if he kept performing in the way he had to start the season, then there's a chance the Nationals would have decided to cut bait. And that would have potentially hurt the development of some of their younger arms like Riley Cornelio and Luis Perales.

Cornelio, who made his major league debut on April 24, did not look ready for The Show during that outing. Perales, who returned to the mound this year after Tommy John surgery, is still working his way back into form. With that in mind, continuing to develop on the farm is crucial for those young arms. And if Littell was no longer on this roster, then Washington might have had to rely on them to pitch real innings for them in the bigs before they were ready, which could have hurt their long-term development.

All in all, it's great to see Littell turn things around. Not only is that great for him on a personal level, but it also is huge for the Nationals as they try to position themselves for the future.

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