Spencer Howard DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Logan Allen has been optioned to Triple-A Columbus, according to Mandy Bell of MLB.com. Since May 24, Allen has struggled with a poor 6.75 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, and 19:33 BB:K ratio across his previous 36 frames. In a corresponding move, the Guardians promoted 27-;27-year-old right-hander Spencer Howard to the major league roster. Howard was traded to the Guardians for cash considerations from the Giants on July 5. Howard posted a 5.63 ERA, and 1.83 WHIP in 24 innings in the majors this season and could make occasional starts throughout the second half of the summer but should be left on the waiver wire in all formats.

The San Francisco Giants announced that pitcher Erik Miller will open the game against the Chicago Cubs on Monday. Miller last pitched on June 19, where he also started, and threw one scoreless inning with one walk and two strikeouts. The left-hander will start on Monday, but Spencer Howard is expected to follow him out of the bullpen and serve as the bulk reliever. Howard has struggled as of late on the mound, giving up seven runs (six earned runs) with five walks and four strikeouts over his last 3 1/3 innings of work. He does get a favorable matchup against a Cubs offense that ranks in the bottom half of the league in most categories. Still, Howard should only be considered in extremely deep formats on Monday.