Wes Littleton was a bubble guy to be protected this offseason vis-a-vis the Rule 5 draft, as of the end of the regular season. A 4th round draft pick in 2003, he had a great pro debut with Spokane in the Northwest League, struggled in 2004 at Bakersfield, and then had a solid year in 2005 out of the Frisco pen. His 3.96 ERA wasn't great, but he had a nice 71/24 K/BB ratio in 81 innings pitched, and he's the type of sidewinding righthander who would be attractive in the Rule 5 draft to a team looking for a live bullpen arm.
Well, if Littleton was on the bubble coming into the offseason, he would appear to be pitching his way off the bubble and on to the 40 man roster.
Littleton's AFL line, after his outing last night: 10 2/3 IP, 4 hits, 1 walk, 15 strikeouts, a 0.84 ERA, and a .114 batting average against.
Extremely nice performance for Littleton thusfar in Arizona.