Brendon Little is forcing his way back onto the Blue Jays roster

Since being optioned to Triple-A Buffalo on April 5, Little has posted a 0.00 ERA in 7 innings with 12 strikeouts. That is a sharp turn from the ugly first week that got him sent down.

The raw stat line jumps out fast, but the more useful detail is how he is getting there. The knuckle curve has been around the zone more often, which is exactly what Toronto needed to see from him.

That pitch was part of the problem in the majors when Little lost the feel for his outings early. He gave up 10 earned runs over 3 2/3 innings with the Blue Jays before the club pulled the plug and sent him to Buffalo to reset.

Now the picture looks different. He is missing bats again, limiting damage, and giving himself a real shot to get back into a major-league conversation much sooner than expected.

The walks still matter, of course. Little has 4 in those 7 Triple-A innings, so this is not some perfect turnaround where every problem disappeared the second he got off the plane.

Even so, the shape of these outings is better. A left-hander with 12 strikeouts in 7 innings does not stay in Triple-A forever if the command is stabilizing and the breaking ball is landing often enough.

That is why this matters for Schneider. The Blue Jays manager is still trying to sort through late-inning roles, matchup spots, and which arms he can trust when a game starts tilting. Little is working his way back into that mix.

Toronto already knows what Little can look like when he is right. Over his MLB career, he has a 4.18 ERA in 118 1/3 innings, and the club has leaned on him before as a useful left-handed option out of the bullpen.

That makes this Buffalo run more than a nice minor-league story. It is a real roster development for a team that needs bullpen answers, not just patience projects.

Little also is not some prospect still learning basic pro ball. He is 29, he has major-league time, and he knows exactly what this stretch is supposed to do: clean up the command enough to get back to Toronto.

The best sign is not only the zero ERA. It is that his best weapon looks more usable again. When that knuckle curve is landing instead of yanking him into bad counts, Little becomes a much more dangerous reliever.

So no, the Blue Jays should not rush him back just because the numbers look clean. But Brendon Little is playing too well in Buffalo to ignore, and if this version holds for another stretch, Schneider may not have much choice but to call on him again.