Cleveland Indians: Zach McAllister continued his progression in 2017

Cleveland Indians fans saw some solid work out of the bullpen from Zach McAllister in 2017, who continues to progress at a steady rate.

Cleveland Indians fans aren’t rushing to bring up Zach McAllister‘s name in any conversation about the team’s bullpen, but the veteran figures to be a key piece once again this season.

2018 will mark McAllister’s fourth full year in the bullpen and may also be his final year with the team.

The Indians signed McAllister to a one-year deal to avoid arbitration, but he is a free agent next season.

So in addition to Andrew Miller and Cody Allen, the Indians may be without McAllister as well in 2019. But that conversation can wait.

More from Away Back Gone

• Cleveland Guardians tantalizingly close to locking up AL Central tiebreakers
• Cleveland Guardians: Terry Francona becomes meme in profanity-laced ejection
• Say goodbye to defensive shifts and hello to bigger bases, pitch clock in 2023
• Cleveland Guardians: Shane Bieber second-fastest to 800 strikeouts in major-league history
• The next week will make or break the Cleveland Guardians’ season

Anyway, McAllister returns in 2018 after putting up some decent numbers a season ago. If anything, not bringing up his name often last year was a good thing. He simply went out and did his job.

The right-hander only made 50 appearances in 2017, but logged 62 innings and only allowed 18 earned runs. That 2.61 ERA is the best mark he has had as a full-time reliever.

He also struck out 66 batters compared to allowing 21 walks. Once again, these aren’t dominant numbers, but McAllister never had a total collapse or a five-run outing that caused fans a great deal of stress.

However, he did allow three earned runs in three of his appearances. The Indians went 2-1 in those games.

McAllister’s role has usually seen him come into games to pitch at least a full inning, and that seems to be what he will be doing once again in 2018. Someone has to pitch when a game gets out of hand, while other things can come up such as a starter getting hurt and leaving early or an extra-inning game that goes late into the night.

Next: The ideal starting lineup in 2018

2018 could be the swan song for one of the best bullpens or baseball, or maybe not, as the team could find a way to minimize the losses. And based on how he has progressed as of late, McAllister could be due for a raise in 2019.