Nick Allen
Allen with the Las Vegas Aviators in 2023
Oakland Athletics – No. 10
Shortstop / Second baseman
Born: (1998-10-08) October 8, 1998 (age 25)
San Diego, California, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
April 19, 2022, for the Oakland Athletics
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Batting average.214
Home runs8
Runs batted in39
Teams
Medals
Men's baseball
Representing  United States
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo Team

Nicholas Ryan Allen (born October 8, 1998) is an American professional baseball shortstop and second baseman for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2022.

Amateur career

Allen attended Francis Parker School in San Diego, California, where he played baseball.[1] During his freshman year, he committed to play college baseball at the University of Southern California.[2][3] As a junior in 2016, he slashed .469/.570/.816.[4] In 2017, his senior year, Allen hit .297 with two home runs, ten doubles, and 23 stolen bases.[5] For his high school career, he had a fielding percentage of .963.[5] After his senior year, he was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the third round of the 2017 Major League Baseball draft.[6][7][8] He signed for $2 million.[9][10]

Professional career

After signing with Oakland, Allen made his professional debut with the Rookie-level Arizona League Athletics, hitting .254 with one home run and 14 RBIs over 35 games. Allen spent the 2018 season with the Beloit Snappers of the Class A Midwest League with whom he batted .239 with 34 RBIs and 24 stolen bases over 121 games.[11] In 2019, he began the year with the Stockton Ports of the Class A-Advanced California League with whom he was named an All-Star.[12][13] He was placed on the injured list in late June after suffering a leg injury, and missed the remainder of the season.[14] Over 72 games with Stockton, he slashed .292/.363/.434 with three home runs, 25 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases.[15] He was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Mesa Solar Sox following the season.[16] He did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.[17]

To begin the 2021 season, Allen was assigned to the Midland RockHounds of the Double-A Central.[18] He was placed on the temporarily inactive list twice during the season while participating in Olympic competition.[19] After returning from the Olympics in mid-August, Allen was promoted to the Las Vegas Aviators of the Triple-A West.[20] Over 89 games played between the two clubs, Allen slashed .288/.346/.403 with six home runs, 41 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases.[21] On November 19, 2021, Oakland selected Allen's contract and added him to their 40-man roster.[22] He returned to Las Vegas to begin the 2022 season.[23]

On April 18, 2022, Allen was added to Oakland's roster as a COVID-related substitute.[24] He made his major league debut the next day as the starting second baseman.[25] On April 22, Allen collected his first career hit, a single off of Baltimore Orioles reliever Dillon Tate.[26] On June 21, Allen hit his first major league home run, a two-run shot off of Seattle Mariners starter Marco Gonzales.[27]

International career

Allen competed for a spot on the United States national baseball team in advance of the 2020 Summer Olympics and was subsequently named to the roster of the national team for the Americas Qualifying Event.[28][29] After the national team qualified, he was named to the Olympics roster on July 2.[30] Following the Olympic competition, during which the United States won a silver medal,[31] Allen was named Best Defensive Player.[32] For the tournament, he batted .286 with three extra-base hits.[33]

Personal

Allen is married to Savannah Boone, daughter of former professional baseball player Bret Boone.[34]

References

  1. ^ Lockard, Melissa (June 25, 2019). "A's prospect Nick Allen is a wizard on the field and one of the most underrated prospects in baseball". The Athletic. Retrieved 2023-09-21.
  2. ^ Posted by California Baseball Academy USA on October 14, 2013 at 7:00pm; Feed, View the News. "2017 Grad Nick Allen Commits to USC". www.cbabaseball.org.((cite web)): CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ "A skilled high school shortstop: Nick Allen". The 3rd Man In. March 29, 2017.
  4. ^ "Know Nick Allen's Name: Scouting San Diego's Best Prospect – East Village Times". eastvillagetimes.com. Archived from the original on 2017-06-12.
  5. ^ a b Maffei, John (June 13, 2017). "Parker shortstop says it's 'relief' to be taken by A's". Hartford Courant. Retrieved August 9, 2019.
  6. ^ "USC baseball commit Nick Allen drafted in third round". June 13, 2017.
  7. ^ "USC commit Nick Allen drafted in 3rd round by Oakland". Los Angeles Daily News. June 13, 2017.
  8. ^ "A's snag pair of infielders in varied Day 2". MLB.com.
  9. ^ Slusser, Susan (July 1, 2017). "A's ink high-school star Nick Allen, LSU's Deichmann". San Francisco Chronicle.
  10. ^ Slusser, Susan (July 1, 2017). "A's ink high-school star Nick Allen, LSU's Deichmann". Laredo Morning Times.
  11. ^ Tefertiller, Casey. "Athletics' Nick Allen Looking To Improve Prior To Year Two". www.baseballamerica.com.
  12. ^ Maffei, John. "Minor league report: Locals featured in All-Star baseball games". mcall.com.
  13. ^ "Gore, Castro lead Cal League All-Star rosters". MiLB.com.
  14. ^ Lockard, Melissa. "A's minor-league notebook: Injuries strike key prospects, but the Ports are still finding ways to win". The Athletic.
  15. ^ "Allen named A's best defensive prospect for 2021 by MLB.com". RSN.
  16. ^ Norris, Josh. "2019 Arizona Fall League Rosters Announced". www.baseballamerica.com.
  17. ^ "2020 Minor League Baseball season canceled". MLB.com.
  18. ^ "Oakland A's 2021 minor-league preview: Tyler Soderstrom begins in Stockton, Nick Allen in Midland".
  19. ^ "Athletics prospect Nick Allen looks to play in Tokyo Olympics".
  20. ^ "Aviators® announce roster additions with OF Khris Davis & INF Nick Allen, Team USA Baseball Silver Medalist in Tokyo Olympics".
  21. ^ "A's 2021 minor-league All-Stars: Tyler Soderstrom, Lawrence Butler, Nick Allen and more".
  22. ^ "A's add five players to 40-man roster". MLB.com.
  23. ^ "Aviators' opening day roster breakdown | Las Vegas Review-Journal". Reviewjournal.com. 2022-04-04. Retrieved 2022-05-28.
  24. ^ Franco, Anthony (April 18, 2022). "A's Place Six Players On COVID IL, Promote Three Players". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  25. ^ Killion, Ann (2022-04-19). "A's Nick Allen makes major-league debut". Sfchronicle.com. Retrieved 2022-05-28.
  26. ^ "Nick Allen records first career MLB hit, first run". athleticsnation.com. Retrieved 2023-02-02.
  27. ^ "Nick Allen's first career homer | 06/21/2022". MLB.com.
  28. ^ "RockHounds' Allen named to USA Baseball's Olympic qualifying team". May 26, 2021.
  29. ^ "Team USA Announces Olympic Qualifying Roster". usabaseball.com. May 30, 2021. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  30. ^ "USA Baseball announces Olympics roster". MLB.com. July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  31. ^ "Baseball/Softball - United States vs Japan - Gold Medal Game Results". olympics.com. August 7, 2021. Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  32. ^ "Top Oakland A's prospect earns honors at Tokyo Olympics". 7 August 2021.
  33. ^ "Top Oakland A's prospect earns honors at Tokyo Olympics". 7 August 2021.
  34. ^ "Play Ball: San Diegan Nick Allen is on the Brink of Big Things".

External links

Oakland Athletics current roster
United States roster – 2020 Summer Olympics silver medalists
Tokyo 2020 All Olympic Baseball Team
Categories