Opportunity With Indians Has McAllister Excited

McAllister is in the mix for a spot in the

Indians' big league rotation in '11

(Photo: Tony Lastoria)

The Cleveland Indians finalized their offseason 40-man roster a few weeks ago, and one player they added to the roster was right-handed pitcher Zach McAllister.

McAllister, who just celebrated his 23rd birthday last week, was picked up from the New York Yankees this past August in the deal that sent Austin Kearns to the Yankees at the end of July. The Yankees drafted and signed him in the third round of the 2006 draft out high school, and in five minor league seasons covering 101 games (89 starts) he is 39-34 with a 3.51 ERA.

"[Yankees GM Brian] Cashman gave me a call and said you are no longer with us and good luck with the Indians,” recalled McAllister about the trade. “Then the Indians Assistant GM [Chris Antonetti] called me and said ‘congratulations we are excited to have you’. I am just looking for opportunities, and he said 'you will get good opportunities here'. That is definitely something I am excited about. The number one goal for everyone is to get to the big leagues, whether it be with the team that drafted you or another team."

The trade to the Indians was a move that McAllister welcomed as he knows the chances for a young rookie to get a legitimate shot with the Yankees are much less than that of a young rebuilding team. The Indians are the perfect opportunity for him to dip his feet into the major league pool and hopefully make a splash.

"It is definitely a different feeling,” McAllister said. “You go from a team in New York where if you don't succeed up there right away they won't give you a whole lot of leeway. That's something the Yankees are proud of as if someone is not succeeding they are going to go get someone who can. I definitely want to try and take that attitude with me over here. I like to think of myself as a winner and that is something I am going to try and do whether I am on the mound or in the clubhouse."

The Indians added McAllister to the 40-man roster and acquired him from the Yankees because they believe he can be a starting option in the near future for them. In addition to that they believe he is a talented pitcher.

McAllister doesn’t overpower anyone as his fastball generally sits at 87-91 MPH and has topped out at 93-94 MPH. Instead he is more of a command and control specialist with a deep mix of pitches armed with a two-seam fastball, slider, curveball, and changeup. He’s more of a backend, depth rotation arm with excellent athleticism, sort of along the same lines of right-handed pitcher Josh Tomlin.

"I try to be a sinkerball-slider pitcher,” McAllister said. “My secondary pitches definitely improved [last] year where in some cases they have improved from average to above average pitches. My highs and lows with my velocity usually don’t fluctuate much from my average, which I would actually like to see a difference in. But knowing I can maintain that velocity the whole game is something I am proud of.”

McAllister struggled for much of last season as in 27 combined starts with the Indians and Yankees Triple-A affiliate he went 9-12 with a 5.29 ERA. Opposing batters hit a robust .308 off him.

"This [past] year was definitely a learning experience for me,” McAllister said. “I have always been a guy who has always had good fastball command and at the lower levels I have been able to get away with that as I didn't need a good secondary pitch. I had a good changeup in the past and last year I kind of lost it a little bit so it is still a work in progress. When I was younger I was always a fastball-changeup pitcher, but last year I was also learning a cutter and curveball, so two new pitches and trying to learn on the fly in the season [made it tougher]. My stuff the [last] month was probably better than it ever has been before. Even though the numbers did not show it I know my stuff was there. So for me it is just a matter of executing pitches as that lack of execution when I get ahead of guys was a big problem for me last year."

The performance issues McAllister experienced in 2010 were not really mechanical. Instead, the big area of concern with him was a significant dip in his groundball rate as he had just a 0.79 GO/AO last year whereas in his four previous seasons he had around a 2.00 career groundball rate. With less balls being hit on the ground it led to more fly balls and line drives, which was a big reason he had a large increase in hits against him.

In addition to McAllister’s lack of success with getting consistent groundballs, he also had some issues with maintaining a consistent velocity last season. Early in the season his velocity was down, but in the last few months it ticked back up and finished as good or better than it has in the past.

"I’ve made a few tweaks with my mechanics here and there and have been able to maintain them,” McAllister said. “It really is just learning the ins and outs of pitching and the different pitches. I am also looking forward to getting my sinker back because in the past groundballs have been a big key for me. The more groundballs I can get I guess the better I can be in the long run."

McAllister has had a quiet offseason as he did not pitch anywhere for winter ball, though he participated in the Indians Instructional League program out in Goodyear, Arizona this past September and October. The Indians already knew he was a very durable, strong, athletic pitcher, but during Instructional League Indians coaches were better able to get to know him as a pitcher and assess his strengths and weaknesses.

"I enjoy going out there and trying to compete every time,” McAllister said about his offseason goals. “I’d like to improve my stuff overall, just recognizing what I did this past year to get to the point where I am at with my stuff and carry that along with me into the winter and try to go into camp next year with a good outlook. This past year was my first big league camp with the Yankees as I learned a lot and how all those guys go about stuff. That is something I definitely want to take into camp with me next year."

As McAllister works hard to resurrect his success with being a groundball machine, the Indians will give him every opportunity next year to do exactly that. Unless a rash of injuries hits the big league starting rotation he doesn’t figure to be with the Indians until rosters expand in September.

"I am excited to get out there and show my new team and myself what I can do,” McAllister said. “I am looking forward to the new challenge."

Follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @TonyIPI.  His latest book the 2010 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects & More is also available for purchase on his site for a special year end closeout sale of $10.00 (including shipping and handling stateside).

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