Austin Allen Earns Cal League Player of the Month Honors

Storm catcher Austin Allen was named California League Player of the Month for July

By Matthew Rodriguez

August 8, 2017

It has been announced that Lake Elsinore Storm catcher Austin Allen earned California League Player of the Month honors for the month of July.

Allen led the league in hits (46), home runs (10), RBIs (32), total bases (85) and slugging percentage (.691), while finishing second in runs (27), extra-base hits (18) and OPS (1.089). Allen recorded 13 multi-hit games, a trio of four-hit games and his 32 RBIs were the second-most in professional baseball in July.

"It feels great to be recognized for the success on the field and I'm very blessed and fortunate to do what I do," said Allen, the San Diego Padres' fourth round selection of the 2015 First Year Player Draft out of the Florida Institute of Technology.

Allen, the Padres 20th-ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline, was a huge factor in the team's success at the plate in July. The left-handed hitting catcher tallied a .374 average with a .398 on-base percentage while the team collectively hit .289 as opposed to .251 the month before. He raised his batting average 43 points in July.

"The biggest thing for me was talking to [manager] Edwin [Rodriguez] about being early and slow and staying connected on my backside and that's what I've been focusing on since the All-Star break," the 6-foot-4 Allen said. "That slowed everything down and let me make the adjustments that needed to be made. During the All-Star break I went back to Florida Tech and hit with my coaches there, so that helped me a lot too, but Edwin is a big factor in the success that I've been having."

Allen began last year, his first full season as a professional, on a tear before slowing down as the season progressed. The 2017 campaign has been very different as Allen came into the year more prepared for the grind of a 140-game schedule.

"Last year was a big eye-opener. Seeing the toll 140 games takes on your body, training this past offseason I went harder than the year before and this offseason I'll push even harder. One of my biggest goals this offseason is to get in better shape and mentally and physically train for 162 games so that by this time next year I'm feeling even better."

Allen leads the team in hits (110), doubles (26), home runs (18), RBIs (70) and total bases (192).