LHP Logan Allen, Florida International
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DoB: 9/5/1998.
2020 Stats: 2-1, 2.45 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 41/6 K/BB in 25.2 IP
FIU's Logan Allen actually draws a lot of parallels to the Indians' Logan Allen, who is a different person despite also being a left handed pitcher from Florida in his early 20's with a great changeup but without overpowering fastball velocity. This Logan Allen, despite not throwing all that hard, has gotten better and better during his time in Miami. After a strong freshman season, Allen really put himself on the map in 2019, when he posted a 3.11 ERA and a 120/25 strikeout to walk ratio as a sophomore, then dominated the elite Cape Cod League with 15 shutout innings of work (plus two unearned runs), striking out 24 and walking just three. He was as good as ever in his four start 2020 season, putting up a 2.45 ERA and a wicked 41/6 strikeout to walk ratio, including a fantastic start against George Mason on February 21st in which he tossed seven shutout innings on one hit, one walk, and thirteen strikeouts. With that, he finds himself among the top five college lefties in the draft, which is always a heavily sought-after demographic.
Allen is a pitcher through and through. He's not going to overpower you with big stuff, but he'll locate and mix pitches to keep you off balance. His arsenal starts with a fastball around 90, but it plays up not only due to command but due to some nice late finish down in the zone and some riding life up in the zone. His curveball has big, two-plane break that enables him to run it diagonally across the zone or bring it back onto the corner, though it plays closer to average because it lacks that tight, late bite. Lastly, his best pitch is his changeup, as he tunnels it well with his fastball and it just seems to fall off to the side at the last second. Of course, everything plays up due to his above average command, an he knows how to control the strike zone and dictate at bats to keep hitters on his terms, not the other way around.
The ceiling here is pretty limited, but the floor is high. He's not the biggest guy in the world at six feet tall, and he doesn't figure to add much velocity going forward. The fastball might creep more consistently into the low 90's, but that's probably about it. He'll always have a relatively small margin for error in that velocity band, but he's more than capable of staying within it with room to spare. It's probably a #3 starter ceiling with a more realistic #4/#5 outlook, but he's had such consistent success even against advanced hitters that it's hard to bet against him. Due to the depth of college pitching in this draft, he seems to fit pretty firmly into that second round picture. He's also a relatively accomplished hitter who has slashed .297/.362/.410 with six home runs over his three years at FIU, including a pinch hit home run against Pepperdine on March 1st, but his future is definitely on the mound. If the NL hasn't already adopted the DH by the time he reaches the majors, he could be one of the better-hitting pitchers out there.
2020 start vs Fordham
2019 Cape Cod footage
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