The Cleveland Guardians sit atop the AL Central with their 56-32 record. However, manager Stephen Vogt and company have continually tinkered with the rotation, trying to find the perfect fit for the Guardians.
In their latest move, Cleveland has optioned starting pitcher Logan Allen down to Triple-A. It comes after Allen struck out nine over 4.1 innings in his latest start against the San Francisco Giants. Despite his season-best strikeout performance, Vogt still thought the best thing for Allen was continuing to work on his consistency, via the Associated Press.
“We’ve seen it where he’ll have one outing where he’s efficient, he’s filling up the strike zone,” Vogt said. “He’ll goes six innings, and then he’ll have one where it kind of struggles, a lot of pitches, struggles to find the strike zone and doesn’t quite make it that far.”
“We just felt like this is a time for you to go down, take a deep breath, continue to work on those things, get back to being the best version of you,” Vogt concluded.
While Allen was impressive against the Giants, he didn’t reach five innings. He has failed to breach that inning in his past five outings. Vogt’s assessment of Allen’s inconsistency was right on the nose as well. He has allowed four or more runs in the same amount of starts in which he has allowed two or less runs (six).
Allen has gone 8-4 and holds a 76/35 K/BB ratio over his 18 starts. However, his 5.67 certainly isn’t pretty to look at. He may have found success in his most recent start, but Vogt needs to see more. If Allen does take his next turn in the rotation, it would be on Thursday against the Detroit Tigers. However, the Guardians may choose instead to let him work out the kinks in Triple-A.
Cleveland is battling for a division title and a spot in the playoffs. Stephen Vogt may be a rookie manager, but he is expecting nothing but greatness from his club.
State of Guardians’ pitching rotation
Allen’s demotion comes after the Guardians acquired Spencer Howard in a trade with the Giants. He doesn’t have a firm date in which he will make his first start in Cleveland, but he is set to earn an opportunity. Howard comes to the team after pitching to a 5.63 ERA and a 21/11 K/BB ratio over seven appearances in 2024.
The demotion also isn’t a change in philosophy from Vogt. With Triston McKenzie struggling to a 5.11 ERA. He allowed 12 earned runs in the final three starts before being sent down. McKenzie, like Allen, oozes potential. But Vogt isn’t taking any chances.
Cleveland has been trying to find their perfect pitching staff ever since Shane Bieber underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery. Despite all the commotion, the Guardians rank eighth in the league with a 3.69 ERA. Vogt knows they’ll need to uphold that standard if they want to make any noise in the postseason.
Logan Allen will likely get another chance with Guardians at some point during the 2024 campaign. But for now, Cleveland just wants him to develop and become the best pitcher he can be. Vogt has similar expectations for any pitcher trying to crack the Guardians’ rotation.
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