When the Blue Jays acquired Anthony Kay and Simeon Woods-Richardson from the Mets for Marcus Stroman, I was disappointed. That precedent didn’t bode well the Rangers and their desire to acquire talent for their tradable assets. It still might not bode well for a potential Mike Minor deal. As I type this, he’s sitting in the Rangers dugout and no deal appears imminent, nor should it if the Rangers aren’t getting top dollar. Regardless of whether that happens or not, the Rangers aren’t going home empty-handed with their acquisition of 21-year old LHP Kolby Allard.
In exchange for rental reliever Chris Martin, the Rangers get Allard who, if he isn’t better than both guys acquired by the Blue Jays individually, it is close. Allard will start with Triple-A Nashville after spending 2019 exclusively with Atlanta’s Triple-A Gwinntett where, in a hitter-friendly environment, he went 7-5 with 4.17 ERA. There’s a very good chance that the Rangers in acquiring Allard acquired a member of their 2020 Opening Day starting rotation and, of course, hopefully for many years beyond that.
Allard was the 14th overall pick by the Braves in the 2015 Draft out of San Clemente High School in southern California. He throws a low-90s FB with a good cutter and strong change. He’s working on his curveball and, in general, improving his out pitch. He’s got great command and his current skillset profiles as a No. 4 or No. 5 starter.
Wait…why should we get excited about a backend-of-the-rotation pitcher?
Three reasons.
First, he’s a No. 4 or No. 5 a part of a strong rotation. A lot of 4s and 5s around the league are fringe starters just filling out a rotation. Allard profiles as a definite big league starter who would rate higher in lesser rotations. These guys are very important in the regular season and Allard could certainly be in a playoff rotation.
Second, he’s just 21. That’s what he profiles as now. Let’s harken back several years when the Rangers traded Kyle Hendricks to the Cubs. No one looked at Hendricks and thought he profiled as a big league starter at all. It’s not an apples-to-apples comparison but just a name familiar to Rangers fans. Allard could certainly develop into more but if he doesn’t, the Rangers still acquired a guy who, if he stays healthy, is a part of their rotation for years.
Third, the Rangers gave up a rental reliever for him. That’s it. The bang-for-their-buck is through the roof. If it doesn’t work out, they gave up little, considering their situation. That’s not to disparage Martin, who is having an awesome year, but rental relievers by themselves, especially setup men, don’t typically yield guys like Allard. Again, consider what the Jays got for Stroman—a playoff rotation starter having a year very similar in overall quality as Mike Minor (though they go about getting their outs very differently). And the Rangers could very easily sign Chris Martin back in the off-season.
As far as the potential of the prospect the Rangers received for what they gave up, I'm not sure they could have done better with the way the market has unfolded.
There’s still the potential for more work to be done but so far, so good.