Allen benefits from collaborating with teammates
Earlier this season Zach Plesac revealed that he had been working on a new curveball, the result of a conversation with Shane Bieber, who owns some of the better breaking stuff in all of baseball.
Logan Allen has now followed suit. Allen brought the new grip to a bullpen session, and the positive feedback was immediate. .
“It wasn't something drastic. You throw it the same, it's just a grip change and it was something that clicked pretty quickly,” Allen said. “You not only have good pitching coaches but we also have guys in the clubhouse to lean on and talk to, and we have a pretty good one in Cy Young Shane Bieber.
“Just talking through some things with him, some grip stuff, just started throwing it in my last bullpen and I was like, ‘Wow, I like this.' “
One of Cleveland's standard operating procedures dating back several seasons has been the starting pitchers watching each other's bullpens sessions. It led to collaboration between the team's talented stable of younger pitchers. It has the added bonus that it's more difficult to take a day off or slouch with your peers watching.
For Allen and others, being able to collaborate with Bieber and Co. is a resource that can't be ignored. The communication between players in addition to everything coming from the coaching staff is one of the many reasons why Cleveland's pitching development has remained amongst the game's best over the last several years.
“It's incredible. These guys have been there and done it,” Allen said. “Everybody has their own thing they're really successful with ... They know how to throw it and they're always open to helping, and that's something I'm grateful for.”