Jay Allen is a six-foot-three 190-pound outfielder from John Carroll High School in Fort Pierce, Florida. During his senior year, Allen batted to a .357/.491/.571 slash line for the Rams. In 84 at-bats, Jay amassed two home runs, eight doubles, two triples, 14 runs batted in, and scored 34 runs. He also stole 22 bases in the 28 games of his final season of high school, which led the team. If Allen decides to attend college, he has committed to play baseball at the University of Florida. He was a standout football player as well but has chosen to only play baseball in the future. MLB lists Jay Allen as number 33 on its draft board.
Strengths
Jay Allen is a good all-around player. His scouting report lists all of his tools at 50 or above on a scale between 20 and 80. The one tool that stands out more than any other is his arm. The scouts grade his arm at a 55, which should be strong enough to place him in center field. Allen’s speed should allow him to catch up to a lot of fly balls in the outfield and his arm ought to enable him to get the ball back into the infield quickly. Allen is extremely athletic both in the field and on the base paths. He stole a lot of bases in high school and also swiped six bases in 17 games in the summer circuit in 2020. Time will tell whether or not his speed will transfer to the major leagues, but 10 or 15 stolen bases per season are reasonable.
Weaknesses
Jay Allen is good all around, and that may be his weakness. Other than his arm, there is no single skill that stands out above the rest. His hitting is starting to improve and so is his power, but to this point, they do not stand out enough to raise him higher on the draft boards. Some scouts think that his athletic frame will allow power to develop naturally. However, if he adds weight onto his frame it may hinder his speed. This is not always the case, but if more weight brings more power to add to his strong right arm, it may end up pushing Allen to right field in the future. If being good all around is a weakness, then weakness bodes well for Jay Allen’s future as a baseball player.
MLB Comparison
Jay Allen is reminiscent of a center fielder by the name of Mike Cameron. Cameron played 17 years in the majors for eight different teams and amassed a .249/.338/.444 slash line. His best years came with the Seattle Mariners. Allen is an inch taller than Cameron, but both are good all around. Mike Cameron is six-foot-two and weighed 210-pounds in his prime. Like Allen, Cameron had speed, size, and power. Cameron averaged 23 home runs, 32 doubles, and 25 stolen bases per 162 games. It will be interesting to see if Jay Allen’s stolen base ability translates to as many stolen bases as Mike Cameron was able to steal in the majors. But Allen should have the hitting, fielding, power, and arm strength comparable to Cameron if he continues at the same pace at which he’s been developing.
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