Early on in the offseason, the Atlanta Braves took on a former shortstop prospect, Nick Allen, in a trade.
His numbers in the Majors don’t exactly stand out. In 247 MLB games, Allen has slashed .209/.254/.283 with nine home runs and 43 RBIs. However, what likely intrigued them most to make the move are the numbers he’s put up in Triple-A. In his most recent season, he slashed .345/.431/.497 with seven home runs and 51 RBIs in 81 games.
There’s a glaring discrepancy, and it’s shown in his defense as well. When playing the shortstop position, he had a .981 fielding percentage in Triple-A. However, it drops to .949 in the Majors.
Since he’s currently listed on the 40-man roster, it can be assumed the Braves intend to utilize him in some way. He might, at best, be a platoon piece at shortstop, but the Braves can still make the most of him in that role.
Since upping the quality of his defense is more complex, we can look to previous numbers to see where he can up his game at the plate.
The Braves would get the most out of Allen if they used him primarily against left-handed pitching. When facing lefties, his career slash line is .252/.297/.383. Meanwhile, his career slash line is .190/.235/.239.
Those numbers against lefties aren’t spectacular but he’s significantly better.
Meanwhile, Orlando Arica, who the Braves are currently sticking with for 2025, was significantly better against righties last season.
It’s not a big-brain strategy here. Choose the shortstop that day based on the handedness of the pitcher. Allen will be a more effective acquisition and Arcia will be less of a liability.
Getting Even More Out of Allen
All right, that’s cool that there are ways to best use him in his current form. What about turning him into the everyday ballplayer he is in Triple-A?
After all, with his Triple-A numbers being as strong as they are, he found a way to hit both righties and lefties at that level.
One part of his approach could be to encourage him to swing on the first pitch instead of working the count. When he swings at the first pitch, he bats .244 vs .188 if he took the first pitch.
The Braves could take it a step further and work on his mechanics to generate harder contact. Last season, he had a 17.5% hard-hit ball rate. Most key hitters on the Braves have a hard hit rate well over 35%.
An example to turn to is the recently signed Jurickson Profar. After making adjustments to his swing last season, his hard-hit rate jumped from 31.8% to 44.4%. Naturally, his OPS lept from .689 to .839.
That’s obviously the most likely solution to getting him up to speed in the Majors. But that’s easier said than done. Adjustments will help some but not others. Some just don’t catch up to big-league pitching. It happens all the time.
But there are, at the very least, some strategies from the platoon angle that can help him succeed. The Braves might not have found an upgrade at shortstop, but they can certainly have a way to increase production from that position.