2023 MLB Fantasy: Is Guardians SP Logan Allen a Viable Option?
A strong first showing from Allen.
Fantasy baseball owners can add another rookie to the watch list, as Guardians SP Logan Allen put himself on the radar after a dynamic debut against the Marlins. The question moving forward, however, is whether players should roster the young lefty. With that said, let’s take a closer look at Allen.
Related: 2023 MLB Fantasy: Guardians 1B Josh Bell is Coming Alive
A Look at Allen
A former standout at FIU, Guardians left-hander Logan Allen made his Major League debut on April 23 against the Marlins — and did not disappoint. The 24-year-old struck out eight over six innings, and allowed one earned run to pick up the victory in his Major League debut.
It was a strong initial outing for the 24-year-old, although there were some rough patches along the way. Allen did give up a fair amount of hard contact, including a double from Jorge Soler that came off a fastball in the middle of the zone. On the flip side, Allen did a strong job of inducing whiffs and late contact off his trio of pitches: a four-seamer that sat in the 92-93 MPH range, a splitter, and a sweeping slider.
The splitter, in particular, was a valuable weapon against a right-handed heavy Marlins team. The 24-year-old recorded a Whiff% rate north of 40% off the pitch, and virtually all the batted ball events of the pitch were weak. That’s thanks to the fact that Allen did a strong job of keeping the pitch down and playing it off the heat.
While it is too early to anoint Allen the next budding star of a Guardians rotation that includes Shane Bieber and Cal Quantrill, the young left-hander showed plenty of poise and effectiveness on the mound. That, coupled with injuries to the Cleveland staff, should net Allen a longer look over the coming weeks.
2023 Fantasy Outlook
When Cleveland called up Brayan Rocchio for a brief period in April, we mentioned that the infielder wouldn’t be the only Guardians youngster to move up to the Majors in 2023. While much of the prospect spotlight has been shifted to Tanner Bibee and Gavin Williams, the former FIU star fell under the radar a bit. Still, Allen looks very much like yet another valuable arm to come through the ranks in Cleveland.
For now, Allen looks to be a name to watch. The lefty has the stuff to be an impact starter in the Majors, thanks to three quality pitches that should get outs. But, time will tell whether we’ll see more of the same in the future.
With injuries to Aaron Civale and Triston McKenzie, the Guardians have been looking for consistent production from the likes of Peyton Battenfield and Hunter Gaddis. Battenfield’s looked sharp thus far, while Gaddis struggled mightily in his introduction to the bigs.
After Allen’s strong showing, expect the lefty to get a look this coming weekend against the Red Sox. It’s not a bad matchup, but it won’t be easy given how well the Sox lineup has done thus far. As of April 24, Boston’s .433 team SLG and .334 wOBA both sat in the top ten in Major League Baseball.
