Guardians turn to bullpen savior in crucial game ahead of trade deadline 

Kolby Allard’s done a lot for the Guardians this year. He’s been a one-inning relief option. He’s worked as a long-man. He’s been designated for assignment and re-signed. But today, they’ll turn to him as a starter in their final game before the trade deadline. 

Guardians turn to bullpen savior in crucial game ahead of trade deadline 

Allard, 27, arrived in Cleveland unceremoniously as a minor league free agent in February but has since turned into one of the most important pieces out of the bullpen, posting a 2.83 ERA in 41 1/3 innings. 

That success has come despite him being one of the softest-tossers in all of MLB, as his average fastball velocity is 90.4 miles per hour (seven percentile). He also ranks in the second percentile in strikeout rate and the fourth percentile in whiff rate. 

In other words, batters know what’s coming and still aren’t able to do a ton with it thanks to his penchant for avoiding hard contact (80th percentile in hard-hit rate and 70th percentile in barrel rate). 

This will be Allard’s second start this year, as he also took the bump for a spot start against the Dodgers earlier this year, where he allowed two runs in four innings in a Guardians win. 

While he may not be able to give the Guardians seven innings like Logan Allen last night, Allard does have the ability to give them some length.

Twelve of his 21 appearances this year have spanned multiple innings (he threw a season-high six innings in his season debut in April) and he hasn’t pitched since his one inning appearance against the Royals three days ago. 

Allard will likely go two or three innings before the rest of the bullpen takes over ahead of Thursday’s off day. 

Cleveland’s pitching staff will have its work cut out for him against the Rockies. While Colorado rallied to pick up a win over the Guardians on Monday, they put together a lifeless performance on Tuesday and had multiple at-bats where their hitters looked like they wanted to be anywhere but the batter’s box. 

Matt Festa and Tim Herrin were the only relievers who worked yesterday after Allen’s outing, so Vogt should have a full stable of relievers to work with in the bullpen game. 

They have some hitters who can square up a ball, but, for the most part, there isn’t a ton of power. 

On the other side, the Guardians will be going against Colorado starter Kyle Freeland, who has a 5.24 ERA in 101 1/3 innings this year. Austin Hedges, José Ramírez and Carlos Santana are the only Guardians hitters who have faced off against him in their careers.