Yankees prospect Zack Littell is an ace in the making

Yankees No. 20 prospect, Zack Littell, was just as dominant in his second outing at Double-A Trenton as his first, striking out 10 batters in six innings of scoreless ball on Tuesday night.

If you’re unfamiliar with the 21-year-old right-hander, don’t fret. The Yankees acquired the 2013 11th round pick from the Mariners last November as part of the James Pazos deal.

Since then Littell has gone from a guy with a high ceiling — still trying to harness his control, to one that is currently dominating the lower levels of minor league ball.

Littell began the 2017 season at High-A Tampa, blowing away the competition as he compiled a 9-1 record, 1.77 ERA, 1.12 WHIP and 57:15 K:BB ratio in 71.1 innings pitched. The two complete games he hurled in 11 starts, were obviously enough for the organization to bump him up to Trenton.

Without skipping a beat, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound North Carolina native allowed two hits and one unearned run in seven stellar innings — striking out 10 during his first start on June 15.

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Trenton manager Bobby Mitchell told MILB.com he is superbly impressed by his young pitcher’s demeanor.

"“He’s driven, no doubt about it,” Mitchell said. “It might not be outwardly driven, but you know. The way he just takes the ball and nothing bothers him. He just gets out there and pitches. His demeanor is so calm. … So far, I haven’t seen any kinks in the armor at all.”“He proved tonight he can pitch here in the upper levels.”"

Armed with a pinpoint fastball that regularly sits between 91-94 mph, Littell is currently refining an at-times unhittable slider to go along with his changeup and curveball.

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Now boasting a 1.49 ERA and 1.07 WHIP with 77:20 K:BB in 84.1 innings between High-A and Double-A, Littell told The Trentonian he’s beginning to figure “it” out — the older he gets.

"“I’m getting older and maturing more, kind of learning myself and who I am much more,” Littell said. “I think that’s just the difference every year is just I get more and more mature in my mechanics, mature in my delivery and really just try to be better.”"