When it comes to productive Indians outfielders Greg Allen does not instantly come to mind. However the usually light hitting outfielder has been a tough out at the plate as of late.
Over his last 15 games Allen is slashing .383/.420/.447. This amounts to 18 hits in 47 at-bats. The Indians have desperately needed production from their outfield as the depth at the position is quite shallow. Lonnie Chisenhall has missed most of the season, Bradley Zimmer is out until sometime next year and Tyler Naquin may not return this year either. Leonys Martin is recovering from a life threatening bacterial infection and there is no timeline for his return. This leaves Cleveland with the group of Allen, Melky Cabrera, Rajai Davis and Brandon Guyer to man the outfield spots not occupied by Michael Brantley.
Allen has focused on hitting singles and getting on base during this recent stretch. All but one of Allen’s hits have been singles. The home run from Allen on Monday night (which ended up being the difference in the game) was Allen’s first extra-base hit since July 7. The other 17 hits have been singles which is exactly what Cleveland needs from Allen. Getting on base from the nine hole and allowing the top of the lineup to drive him in. Allen has been driven in 10 times over the last 15 games (Allen’s 11th run came on his home run).
Is Greg Allen someone the Cleveland Indians can count on for the rest of the year?
Whether Allen keeps up this uptick in production remains to be seen. As long as Allen continues to get on base at a good clip he will continue to see the field. Although it must considered that most players go through hot streaks and this could just be a hot streak before Allen reverts back to what he was beforehand.
Even if Allen continues to swing a hot bat it should not keep the Indians from looking at acquiring another outfielder. This goes back to the shallow depth in the outfield. It would be better to keep Cabrera, Guyer and Davis as role players (with Cabrera seeing the most time of the three) and find an upgrade to play in right field. The postseason is all about depth and the Indians need to build more of it for October.
