The Cincinnati Reds have selected outfielder Jay Allen of John Carroll Catholic High School (Florida) with the 30th overall in the 1st round of the 2021 Major League Baseball Draft.
Jay Allen Scouting Report
Height: 6′ 3″ | Weight: 190
Bats: Right | Throws: Right | Position: Outfielder
Highest Ranking: 25th (ESPN)
A three sport star at John Carroll Catholic High School, Jay Allen stands out in this draft class for his athleticism. A potential 5-tool player, he doesn’t have any single explosive tool that grades out as plus, but there’s a chance that all of his tools are average to above-average at the end of the day.
At the plate he can and does already use the entire field and can drive the ball from foul pole to foul pole. He has average to above-average power potential, especially if he fills out his frame a bit over the next few years. He’s got above-average speed and he is faster underway.
Defensively he has enough speed to play and remain in center. His arm is above-average and could play in right field if he does lose any speed down the line and needs to move out of the middle of the field.
Jay Allen Video
Instant Reaction
My favorite pick of the day for the Reds. While there is plenty of risk/reward here, the reward seems quite high for Jay Allen. A player that oozes athleticism, but hasn’t strictly focused on baseball but has still been very good at baseball gets one excited. Allen could be a centerfielder with power and a solid average down the line who can also do a little bit of damage running the bases. In the first round I prefer to see upside as long the there’s no reason to believe someone would be a complete flop. Allen has plenty of upside and there’s not much reason to think he is any more of a risk than most other high school players selected at the back end of the first round.
Scouting Director Brad Meador on Jay Allen
“I sat down with Jay, we had a workout a few weeks ago, and he came and we sat in the dugout – I don’t know, 30-45 minutes and had a good long conversation about just that. And that’s what our scouts spend a lot of time, digging in on the makeup and getting to know the kids – and like I said it’s the most important part, especially with a high school player. I just felt like after talking with him, he had all the right answers. We had a good discussion and he convinced me this was the right path for him.”
How do you grade him athletically?
“He is (an insane athlete). 3-sport high school athlete. And that’s what’s so exciting about him, he’s just scratching the surface in baseball. He hasn’t ever just focused on baseball and you saw him improve over the summer and even through the spring. He’s only going to get better from here. It’s really exciting upside.”
Do you like that kind of background with the different skillsets?
“Absolutely. We’ve talked about it before, we love the three sport guys, the two sport players. There’s just so much that goes into playing other sports, competing in different ways. It’s not necessarily the case for him because he’s such a good athlete, but not always being the best player on the field or on the court – our scouts spend a lot of time watching basketball games and football games and seeing these guys compete in other sports, especially the high school kids, to see what kind of teammates they are when everyone’s not there to watch them sometimes. You reduce the risk of the overuse injuries of just playing the same sport 12 months a year. So there’s a lot of advantages. I think everyone agrees with playing multiple sports.”
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