What It Means:

Allen struggled last April, but he twirled a gem of an inning Wednesday against Boston in a 7-6 victory. He featured both his fastball and his knuckle-curve, easily navigating his way through the heart of the Red Sox batting order. The right-hander showed better command in the second half of 2015 and carried that into his 2016 debut. He’s a good bet to be a top-10 fantasy closer this year.

Our metrics project Allen to post a 31.5 percent strikeout rate across 68 2/3 innings this season, while earning a 2.49 ERA. We had him as a top-20 option entering the season, and he's displaying plenty of upside.