Athletics manager Mark Kotsay announced that Allen will form the short side of a platoon at shortstop with Aledmys Diaz to begin the season, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Allen will be in the lineup against left-handed pitching, while Diaz will see the bulk of the playing time against righties. Though he's enjoyed a solid spring training with a .310/.432/.448 slash line over 13 games, Allen posted a meager .547 OPS in his 326 plate appearances with Oakland in 2022. Allen's plus defense gives him a chance to be a strong option up the middle, but he may not present enough upside at the plate to emerge as a major fantasy contributor.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: In fierce shortstop competition
Rotowire
Allen, who is hitting .375 across 11 Cactus League games, continues to be in a heated battle with Aledmys Diaz for the starting shortstop job, Steve Stockmar of MLB.com reports.
Allen got the start Sunday against the Dodgers, and Stockmar reports the 24-year-old helped his case with an RBI and two stellar defensive plays. However, Diaz is also enjoying a successful spring at the plate, and manager Mark Kotsay is going to emphasize offensive upside in his decision-making process with respect to the winner of the job battle. "You look at the production offensively last year, we evaluate that," Kotsay said. "Obviously, we evaluate our offense last year as a group. We didn't score enough runs, and that's a necessity this year."
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Not a lock to start at shortstop
Rotowire
Allen is not a lock to open the season as the Athletics' starting shortstop, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Allen entered camp as the clear favorite to be the primary shortstop and probably still is, but when asked over the weekend whether Allen was the team's starter at short, general manager David Forst said, "I don't know that we have anything penciled in like that." Aledmys Diaz has mostly played shortstop in camp and is an alternative to Allen to start there, although he's likely to bounce around to other infield spots. While he offers solid defense, Allen batted just .207/.256/.291 in 100 games for Oakland last season.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Hot hitting continues Monday
Rotowire
Allen went 2-for-4 with a walk and a run in a win over the Angels on Monday.
Allen led off for the second straight game and made good use of the opportunity, generating his second multi-hit effort over the last seven contests in the process. The rookie has picked up the pace at the plate in that span, generating three extra-base hits (two doubles, one home run), four RBI, two walks and three runs while striking out at a minuscule 3.8 percent clip.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Pops two-run homer
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Allen went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Sunday's 10-3 win over the Mariners.
Allen provided some extra cushion for Oakland with his sixth-inning blast. The long ball was his first since Aug. 15, and he drove in a run for the first time in five games. The shortstop has seen steady playing time in the second half, but he hasn't done much at the plate throughout the year. He has a .208/.256/.294 slash line with four homers, 18 RBI, 30 runs scored and three stolen bases through 97 contests this season.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Two hits, two RBI
Rotowire
Allen went 2-for-4 with a two-run double in Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Angels.
Allen did most of the damage for the Athletics with a bases-loaded double in the second inning which scored two runs. The rookie also recorded a base hit in the fourth inning, giving him his sixth multi-hit game on the season. The double was just his third extra-base hit of September, during which he is slashing .221/.254/.265 with a 21:3 K:BB over 71 plate appearances.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Sitting Sunday
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Allen is not in Sunday's lineup against the Mets, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Allen is hitting .233/.303/.233 with zero home runs and two steals over his last 10 games. Ernie Clement will start at shortstop and hit ninth.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Notches third steal Saturday
Rotowire
Allen went 1-for-4 with an RBI single and a stolen base in a win over the Mets on Saturday.
Allen extended the Athletics' lead to 8-4 with his eighth-inning knock and subsequently swiped second base, snapping a brief 0-for-12 funk in the process. The 23-year-old has been reasonably productive at the plate over the last two weeks, hitting safely eight times in a nine-game stretch at one point in the sample while also recording two of his three steals on the season.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: On base thrice in win
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Allen went 2-for-2 with a walk and a run in a win over the Mariners on Tuesday.
Allen was busy on the basepaths throughout the night with his latest encouraging offensive performance. The 23-year-old has now hit safely in four straight -- and eight out of his last nine games overall -- cobbling together a .324 average and .367 on-base percentage over the latter stretch. With the Athletics closing the book on a non-contending season, Allen should continue benefitting from plenty of reps against big-league arms the rest of the way through an everyday role at shortstop.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Notches second steal Saturday
Rotowire
Allen went 1-for-4 with a stolen base and a run in a win over the Astros on Saturday.
Allen led off the fifth inning with a single before swiping second and then coming home on Seth Brown's go-ahead three-run home run. The steal was only the rookie's second in four attempts this season, but he's shown some modest signs of life at the plate of late by hitting safely in six of his last seven games.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Extends modest hitting streak
Rotowire
Allen went 1-for-4 with an RBI double and a run in a loss to the Rangers on Tuesday.
The rookie's fourth-inning two-bagger brought home Jonah Bride for Allen's first RBI since Aug. 30. The shortstop has shown some modest signs of life at the plate over the last three games, recording a hit in each while scoring twice overall. However, Allen remains mostly overmatched by big-league arms, as he's still carrying just a .205 average and .541 OPS across 81 games.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Steps out of lineup
Rotowire
Allen is not in the lineup for Sunday's game at Baltimore.
Allen started the past 10 games and will head to the bench after he posted a .486 OPS during that span. Sheldon Neuse will take over at shortstop and bat eighth in Sunday's series finale.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Multi-hit effort in win
Rotowire
Allen went 2-for-5 with an RBI single and a run in a win over the Nationals on Tuesday.
The rookie was part of a third-inning rally from a 4-1 deficit, with his timely knock driving in Jonah Bride. Allen has picked up the pace at the plate of late, as he now has a modest four-game hitting streak and has hit safely in eight of the last 10 games overall.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Not in Tuesday's lineup
Rotowire
Allen is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Marlins.
Allen started the past 17 games, including six straight following the release of veteran Elvis Andrus, but the 23-year-old will head to the bench for Tuesday's contest. Sheldon Neuse will take over at shortstop and bat ninth.
Allen went 1-for-3 with one homer, one RBI and one run scored in Monday's loss to the Rangers.
The rookie shortstop took a 2-0 fastball from Glenn Otto 391 feet to left field for his third home run on the season and second in as many days. Despite the recent power surge, Allen should not be considered a home run producer as he never eclipsed six home runs in a single season in the minors. He should be considered a fringe option in deeper leagues down the stretch, as his season-long slash is a lowly .214/.280/.318.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Hits solo homer
Rotowire
Allen went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Sunday's 6-3 loss to the Astros.
Allen launched a solo shot in the top of the eighth inning Sunday. It was his second home run of the year and his first since June 26. The second baseman has struggled for consistency this season, but is now in the midst of a three game hit streak and has gone 8-for-29 this month for a .276 batting average. Allen has improved his season batting average from .194 to .212 in his last 10 games.
Allen went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and a run in a win over the Angels on Thursday.
The young shortstop has hit safely in five of his last eight starts, although he's still carrying just a .197/.261/.276 slash line for the season. Allen does have three doubles over that eight-game span, and seven of his first eight extra-base hits at the big-league level have been two-baggers.
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Athletics' Nick Allen: Steps out of lineup
Rotowire
Allen is not in the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Angels, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Allen started the past four contests and will head to the bench after going 2-for-11 with two doubles and an RBI. Tony Kemp will shift to the keystone while Chad Pinder starts in left field.
