Cleveland Indians: Three Players Ready for a Big June

Cody Allen

When the Cleveland Indians drafted Cody Allen back in 2011, there were virtually no expectations for him. Drafted 698^th overall, Allen signed with the Tribe for $125,000. Despite the lowly beginnings, Allen took the minor leagues by storm, and he had reached the major leagues by mid-2012. In fact, he was just the second player from the 2011 draft to reach the big leagues, and the other was future teammate Trevor Bauer then with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Allen established himself as an effective major league reliever almost as soon as he started pitching for the Tribe. With a 3.72 earned run average in his first season, he dazzled the league with his velocity and strikeout prowess. After spending a season and one-half doing generic bullpen work, he took over as the team’s closer during 2014.

The right-hander has been one of the best relievers in baseball for the past few seasons, and last year was no different. Across just under 70 innings of work, he struck out 99 batters while allowing just 56 hits and 25 walks. Perhaps more impressive than the paltry .216 batting average that opponents managed against him, his 1.82 FIP ranked first among all qualified relievers.

Perhaps more impressive than the paltry .216 batting average that opponents managed against him, his 1.82 FIP ranked first among all qualified relievers.

Due to this high performance, the Indians had high expectations for their closer in 2016. This said Cody Allen scuffled to start the season, and he even showed a velocity drop. In the month of April, the closer allowed eight runs in just ten innings. Fortunately, he turned things around in May with a 0.73 earned run average and increased velocity, giving us reason to hope for a big June.

Furthermore, the 27-year-old has tended to pitch well in June. His career June earned run average comes in at a low 1.19, and he even managed to prevent opponents from scoring any runs last June. Allen has always struck out batters at an incredible rate, but somehow he has managed to increase that mark during the month of June. Combining this trend with his bounce-back May makes Allen look like he is ready to continue his stellar pitching next month.

The final player on our countdown is a player who has shown inconsistent flashes of greatness.

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