Ethan Small

Small attended Lexington High School in Lexington, Tennessee.[1] He was not drafted out of high school in the 2015 Major League Baseball draft, thus enrolling at Mississippi State University.

As a freshman at Mississippi State in 2016, Small pitched only ten innings. After the season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Wareham Gatemen of the Cape Cod Baseball League.[2] After his freshman campaign, he underwent Tommy John surgery and missed all of 2017.[3][4] He returned as a redshirt sophomore in 2018, starting 18 games, going 5–4 with a 3.20 earned run average (ERA).[5] In 2019, Small went 10–2 with a 1.93 ERA in 18 starts, striking out 176 batters in 107 innings,[6] and was named the SEC Pitcher of the Year.[7][8] He won the 2019 National Pitcher of the Year Award.[9]

Small was drafted with 28th overall pick by the Milwaukee Brewers in the first round of the 2019 Major League Baseball draft. He signed for $2 million.[10][11][12] He made his professional debut with the Arizona League Brewers, and, after two games, was promoted to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.[13] Over seven starts between the two teams, he went 0–2 with a 0.86 ERA, striking out 36 over 21 innings.[14] He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the season.[15]

Small began the 2021 season with the Biloxi Shuckers and was promoted to the Nashville Sounds during the season.[16] That June, he was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game.[17] Over 18 starts in 2021, Small went 4-2 with a 1.98 ERA and 92 strikeouts over 77+1⁄3 innings.[18]

Small features a lively low- to mid-90 mph fastball—scouts often described it as a "rising" fastball—a curveball and changeup.[19] He has been known to vary his windup timing on his pitches, to give him an advantage over hitters, similar to pitchers such as Marcus Stroman and Johnny Cueto.[20]

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)