Austin Allen

Allen came up through the San Diego system with a propensity for hitting, but was buried on the catching depth chart by Austin Hedges and Francisco Mejia. The Padres sent Allen up I-5 to Oakland in a deal for Jurickson Profar, and there was hope that he could take advantage of the opportunity in a platoon situation with Sean Murphy. However, Allen showed little ability to handle major-league pitching when he was given playing time and was eventually sent back to camp to work on his skills. One bad season should not write off his future, but the fact Murphy established himself as the C1 and Jonah Heim leapfrogged him into the C2 spot puts Allen back on the train to Triple-A for 2021 unless he has a huge camp. At 27, Allen is running out of time to establish his toehold in the majors.

Allen has hit 20-plus homers in each of the past three seasons in the San Diego system while hitting no worse than .283. The Padres' affiliates are in some friendly offensive environments, and El Paso is the best one in the minors so take the .330/.379/.663 line he put up last year with more than a pinch of salt. San Diego gave Allen some time at first base so that he would have some flexibility on the major-league roster, though given Eric Hosmer's durability, and with Francisco Mejia and Austin Hedges on the team, Allen's playing time was always tough to envision. Mejia is slated for a similar role in 2020 and the club wasn't going to move on from the amazing defense Hedges provides, so Allen was the one deemed expendable. The Padres traded him to Oakland in December. He will likely slot in behind Sean Murphy, but keep in mind Murphy has missed significant time with knee issues.

A fourth-round selection in the 2015 draft, Allen hailed from largely unknown Division II Florida Tech but had an extremely successful first full season in the minors. Allen showed a superior ability to make contact, fanning just 69 times in 109 games. Allen only drew 29 walks, though that is difficult to pick on when he hit .320 over an entire season. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Allen is also expected to blast more home runs with his left-handed power stroke. Allen does need more polish behind the dish, and he may not end up sticking behind the plate long term, but he's primed to take another step forward in 2017 while playing in the hitter friendly confines of the California League.