Former Reds pitcher had a bizarre second job before becoming big-league starter

Years from now, many will forget that Zack Littell was once briefly a member of the Cincinnati Reds. Acquired last summer to bolster an ailing starting rotation, Littell did his job admirably with a 4.39 ERA as an innings-eater at the back end of the rotation. However, coming into 2026, it was clear that his homer-prone nature was not a good fit for Great American Ball Park.

Ultimately, his Reds' legacy will be that of a non-descript back-of-the-rotation arm that got the club through a tough stretch. The Cincinnati chapter of his career is far from the most interesting, and in fact, the most fascinating part of Littell's journey might have been before he ever made the majors.

In an article highlighting what later-round draft picks had to do in the minor leagues to make ends meet, Spencer Nusbaum of The Athletic (subscription required) coaxed out some surprising details from Littell regarding his journey to the majors.

The 30-year-old was an 11th-round pick in 2013, turning pro at a time when minor leaguers were paid peanuts and frankly exploited. That led Littell, like so many others, to work a series of odd jobs in the offseason in order to make ends meet. The right-hander found one that was stranger than most, however. Working overnight for a farmer, his title was "coyote hunter."

Ex-Reds pitcher hunted coyotes in the minor leagues to make ends meet

Littell was drafted out of high school, and by virtue of his late-round draft position, was given just a $100,000 signing bonus. Sure, a $100K windfall sounds like a lot of money for a teenager, but given the fact that minor leaguers weren't paid a living wage back then, it didn't stretch very far.

Littell told Nusbaum that as a 20-year-old, he worked in an embroidery shop. It was a job he had mixed feelings about. “There were fun parts of it… but if we had big orders?” Littell recounted. “There was nothing worse than coming in and the board was full.”

It was tedious work, and the next offseason, when Littell met an anesthesiologist who also had a farm and a problem with coyotes attacking his livestock, Littell had found a new gig. He'd work overnights at the farm, setting up shop with a rifle and a thermal scope on top of a tower and scouring the horizon for coyotes.

Some nights were boring, with no action. Others saw him shoot as many as five coyotes. Either way, he was paid $60 a night for his labor, and then would wake up early the next morning to train and prepare for the upcoming season.

It seems crazy, but that was the reality for most minor leaguers back then. Well, not shooting coyotes per se, but working odd jobs like driving for Uber or working on construction crews, was a necessity for those who were not fortunate enough to land the fat, seven-figure bonuses that prospects at the top of the draft have lavished upon them.

Thankfully, we've moved to a more equitable system of compensation for minor leaguers, who used to have to pay for their own in-season housing (now taken care of by their respective organizations). One has to imagine it's a load off a youngster's mind as he chases his dreams.

With this anecdote in mind, perhaps you'll remember Littell. And if you do, it probably won't be for the 53⅓ innings he tossed in a Reds uniform, but for the fact that part of his journey to the bigs required shooting coyotes in order to survive.

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