Left-hander Kolby Allard elected free agency after being waived by the Guardians, per the MLB.com transaction tracker. Cleveland had designated the former Atlanta first-round pick for assignment last week.
Allard spent a couple months on Cleveland’s big league roster. He signed an offseason minor league contract and was selected onto the MLB club in late April. The 27-year-old southpaw managed an impressive 2.55 earned run average in 35 1/3 innings as a low-leverage reliever. Allard’s 90.5 MPH average fastball speed made him one of the softest throwers in the league, however. His 10.5% strikeout rate ranks last among pitchers who have logged at least 30 frames, and he’s sixth from the bottom in swinging strikes.
The lack of whiffs had seemingly begun to catch up with Allard in recent weeks. He allowed at least one earned run in four of his last five appearances, with opponents batting .395 in that time. Neither the Guardians nor any other club believed in the sustainability of Allard’s season-long earned run average. He’s out of minor league options, so any claiming team would have needed to keep him on the big league roster.
Allard has appeared in parts of eight MLB seasons, posting a 5.59 ERA in a little more than 300 innings. He has been a starter for most of his minor league career but has had a tough time sticking in a big league rotation, more frequently working from the bullpen.
He’s *27*??
Right? It seems like he’s been around forever. He was 20 when he made his MLB debut.
Strange he debuted at 20. Some teams like the Braves, Angels, and Nats bring guys up super early. I get you don’t want the guy wasting away in the minors but a lot of times with these pitchers, they clearly are not ready. Braves seem to just keep churning through them and seeing who works.
The Braves brought Allard up for 8 innings his first season so don’t make this sound like more than it really is. The approach us to gradually introduce them to the majors and every pitcher is different. Spencer Strider was passed his 22nd birthday when he got his first experience in the majors and that was a whopping 2.1 innings.
28 next month
No surprise here. He is going to get picked up
He pitched a few really good games; won’t be surprised if Atlanta grabbed him for the rest of the year. Give him a lot of starts improve his value for the off season
I’d be surprised if anyone gave him “a lot of starts.”
He’ll likely get picked up as a reliever
He started 4 games for the Phillies last year. Judging from his results then (5.00. ERA), giving him a lot of starts won’t do jack to add value.
Braves need to grab him asap. We are bleeding starting pitching and anyone right now would be an upgrade to majority of the staff
Trade ownership.
Atlanta should absolutely resign him and get him back on track.
Padres, pronto.rapido.