Finding consistency is the goal for Logan Allen in Columbus

Just ahead of Sunday's series finale with the San Francisco Giants, the Cleveland Guardians made the decision to option Logan Allen to Triple-A Columbus in order to make room for the recently acquired Spencer Howard. A move was absolutely necessary for Howard to be added to Cleveland's major league roster, and optioning Allen was deemed to be the move that needed to be made.

First-year manager Stephen Vogt spoke with the media regarding that decision, going on to state how vital Allen has been to their season so far and what they hope he is able to get from his trip down to Columbus. The biggest takeaway? Consistency.

Logan is such a big part of our success so far through this year, and it's an opportunity for Logan to go down and get some consistency back. We’ve seen it. He’ll have one outing where he's out there, he's efficient, he's filling up the strike zone, he goes six innings, and then another one where he’s throwing a lot of pitches and struggles to find the strike zone and doesn't quite make it that far.

It has been a very up-and-down year for Allen this season, failing to reach 5 innings pitched in seven of his 18 starts, including three occasions in which he has failed to pitch more than 3 innings. It is hard to have someone make a start every five days when there is so much variance in his length of outings. Runs allowed have also been an area that has seen a high level of variance, as Allen has seven starts with two runs or less allowed and four with five or more.

One of the biggest issues for Allen this season has been walks. From May 2nd all the way to June 25th, Allen issued at least one walk per contest, issuing three or more free passes on five occasions. It is hard to go deep into games when a pitcher continuously gives batters a free base, and that has been exactly what Allen has had to battle against this season.

The most important thing for Allen during his time with the Columbus Clippers is throwing strikes while limiting walks. Do not pay attention to anything else in Triple-A, as nothing else is going to matter all that much. Allen has shown he does not need to spend a whole lot of time in Columbus, considering he has been a major league pitcher since early last season. Attack the zone, lower the walk frequency, and most importantly, build confidence. If Allen is able to accomplish this, he should be able to help out the Guardians later in the regular season and hopefully during the postseason.