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| Zach McAllister (Photo: Ken Carr) |
McAllister, 23, has been a workhorse on the mound at Triple-A Columbus where in 15 starts he is 8-3 with a 2.97 ERA. He has averaged more than six innings a start, and in 97.0 innings he has allowed 86 hits, 21 walks, and has 71 strikeouts.
McAllister has been the most consistent pitcher of any pitcher in the Indians' farm system this year, and there is no doubt this is an exciting moment for him as he prepares to live his dream of pitching in the big leagues.
"I am happy with my season so far," McAllister said about his season. "I got off to a pretty good start and have just tried to stay consistent and continue the success."
Last August the Indians picked McAllister up as the player to be named later in the July trade that sent outfielder Austin Kearns to the New York Yankees, a deal that at this point is looking like an absolute steal by former GM Mark Shapiro. After coming in late to the organization last year he feels like he is finally comfortable and a part of the organization.
"I definitely feel comfortable now,” McAllister said. “I felt like I had a good experience the last month I was [in Columbus last year], and then went to Instructional League and gained some experience and worked on some things.”
McAllister features a five pitch mix where he throws a sinking fastball that sits 88-92 MPH and has touched 94 MPH, and complements it with a cutter, changeup, curveball and slider. He is an imposing figure on the mound standing in at 6'5" 230 pounds, and has all the tools to be an innings eating workhorse at the big league level for a long time. His fastball is his bread and butter pitch and has seen an uptick in its overall velocity this year.
"For me [my go to pitch] is my fastball," McAllister said. "I have a lot of belief in my fastball that I have enough velocity and sink to get by with it. Also I think the confidence to throw any pitch at any time has been huge for me. The cutter has definitely been a huge pitch for me this year just knowing that when I am behind in the count or I need a strike and I know hitters are sitting fastball that I can throw that in there and hopefully get soft contact with it. That's kind of been the case with me so far this year. I have also gotten back to using my changeup again and continue to mix in my slider and curveball."
The cutter is the pitch that may have pushed McAllister over the top as a big league starting option. He picked it up midseason last year and now has the confidence to use it anytime and is a weapon for him.
"The cutter has been huge for me this year and a pitch I can definitely rely on whenever I need it," McAllister said. "With last year being a learning year for me that was one of the pitches I picked up and was able to have success [at the end of] last year and carry it over. I can start it on the outer half of the plate to a righty where it looks just like my fastball but at the last second it cuts away and misses the barrel of the bat and hopefully gets some soft contact."
While McAllister has an assortment of pitches in his arsenal, he has always usually relied on his fastball-slider combination as they are his two best pitches. The slider is an above average secondary offering for him, and the organization has challenged him this season to improve it and make it more of an out pitch.
"For me it is just being able to use my slider as a put away pitch," McAllister said. "I know I can throw my cutter for a strike whenever I need it, and knowing that my slider has that swing and miss capability is something I have worked on [recently] and been happy with. I have just tried to continue to work on that and my changeup too."
McAllister was a top five prospect in the Yankees organization going into last season; however, part of the reason the Indians were able to obtain him for Kearns is because his stock had fallen in the Yankees organization after a lackluster year where at the time of the trade he was 8-10 with a 5.09 ERA in 24 starts for their Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre club. The Indians saw it as an opportunity to pick up an undervalued guy who has the potential to be a middle-to-backend of the rotation starter in the big leagues.
After finishing out the season in Columbus last year, McAllister went out to Instructional League to work with Indians coaches to rework and solidify his delivery, and since then he has been as good or better than we ever was.
"That was kind of the main focus for me going out [to Instructional League] was to kind of change my delivery up a little bit," McAllister said. "The things that they mentioned to do really made sense to me so I grasped it quickly and took advantage of what they offered me. It was just to get a little bit more hip turn and more rhythm so I could use the power I have rather than being real simple lifting my leg up and going.”
Prior to last season, McAllister had two great back-to-back seasons where in 2008 he went 14-9 with a 2.09 ERA (151.0 IP, 133 H, 21 BB, 115 K) and in 2009 he went 7-5 with a 2.23 ERA (121.0 IP, 98 H, 33 BB, 96 K). The sudden jump in his numbers in 2010 was a result of him elevating his fastball and working on a couple of pitches in his arsenal.
"I think [my struggles in 2010] had to do with my delivery as I was landing soft on my front leg and everything was flat and I didn't have the sink like I normally do," McAllister said. "I really had to learn how to pitch last year, so as rough as it was it was probably one of the best things that happened to me because I was able to learn how to use all my pitches and not just rely on my fastball. I feel like I can rely on my fastball again this year but that I also have the secondary pitches to go along with it, so it has been a huge help for me this year."
A lot of pitchers have a hard time dealing with failure, especially when it is the first time experiencing it as McAllister did last season. But he used it as a growth opportunity and at the same time showed his maturity and used it as a challenge to get better this season.
"I think it is kind of a mindset of really believing in yourself and just having fun and enjoying myself this year," McAllister said. "Last year was a learning year. I know some people might get discouraged or down from it, but I took advantage of it and wanted to get better and improve as I knew that wasn't normally how I am. So I had to prove to myself [and everyone that] it wasn't me. I just wanted to go out there and work as hard as I could in the winter and the delivery change was a huge help for me."
Even after the sub-par season the Indians showed how much they liked McAllister and the confidence they had in him as a potential big league pitching option when they added him to the 40-man roster in the offseason. There were a few who questioned the Indians decision to add him then, but absolutely no one questions that decision now.
"It was a huge goal for me [to get rostered] and a relief off my back once I found out that was the case that I was put on it," McAllister said. "It makes things a little easier for you to get to the big league level. I had no control over it, but it is something I was very happy with as it is nice to know that they think you can help them out. It just gives you confidence to know that if I go out and do what I am supposed to, you might have a chance."
Whether McAllister is in Columbus or Cleveland the rest of this year, he just wants to maintain consistency with each outing and continue to show he is a big league option for the Indians now and in the future.
"I just want to maintain what I have done so far," McAllister said. "Being able to be consistent is a huge part of this game, so for me if I am consistent from outing to outing then I can look back at the end of the year and know the numbers will play out for themselves. That's my goal is to be consistent every day. Whatever happens with wins and losses or whether you get up to the big leagues or not, that is stuff you really don't have too much control over. But if you are consistent and able to execute and do what you are supposed to do, then more likely than not good things will happen for you."
Good things do happen.
Like getting that first call to the big leagues.
Follow Tony and the Indians Prospect Insider on Twitter @TonyIPI. Also, his latest book the 2011 Cleveland Indians Top 100 Prospects & More is available for purchase for $20.95 to customers in the US (shipping and handling extra).
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