Fort Wayne's Austin Allen making hitting in Midwest League look easy so far

CEDAR RAPIDS — This is professional baseball, not 12-inch slow-pitch beer-league softball. Looking at the Midwest League's hitting leaderboard, you might be confused.

Austin Allen of the Fort Wayne TinCaps has gone through the first two weeks of the season and gotten more hits than outs. Going into Saturday, the catcher had an improbable .520 average in 14 games.

That's 26 for 50, with a home run and 14 RBIs. Labeling this a fast start isn't doing it justice.

'It's the most physically prepared I've felt for anything I've done before,' Allen told www.milb.com. 'I'm blessed to get off to this start.'

Allen was a fourth-round draft pick of the San Diego Padres last June out of Division II Florida Tech. He hit .240 in Rookie-ball, not exactly portending what he's done for Fort Wayne.

But he lost 15 pounds in the offseason and worked out with major leaguers Francisco Lindor of Cleveland and Derek Dietich of the Miami Marlins. Whatever those two told him, as far as advice, must have worked wonders.

'A lot of it was just trying to watch and see what they do, but talking with Francisco, he told me to stick with a routine that gets me most prepared,' Allen told www.milb.com. 'Whether things are good or bad, stick with that routine and ride it out.'

Allen is 6-foot-4, so many scouts don't foresee him being able to stick as a catcher. But, as the adage goes, if you can hit, the Padres will find someplace for him to play.

Cedar Rapids Kernels outfielder LaMonte Wade has been simply brilliant at the plate, taking a .368 batting average into Saturday's double-header at Clinton. But he ranks just fifth in the MWL, behind Allen, Bowling Green's Jake Cronenworth (.418), Lake County's Francisco Mejia (.400) and South Bend's Daniel Springola (.378).

The Kernels went into Saturday with a .225 batting average in 15 games, which ranks 13th of 16 teams in the Midwest League. And that's with Wade and third baseman Chris Paul, who hit .346 in seven games before getting a promotion to high-Class A Fort Myers.

Paul is off to a .235 start in nine games for the Miracle. They've been led early by Nick Gordon, last year's Kernels shortstop, who is hitting .349 in 15 games.

INTER-DIVISION PLAY BEGINS

Fans around the area will be able to see Allen and Fort Wayne play in a couple of weeks. Inter-division play in the Midwest League begins Tuesday, with West Michigan (Tigers) and South Bend (Cubs) playing at Cedar Rapids and Quad Cities, and Lansing and Great Lakes coming to Beloit and Wisconsin. The following week, Fort Wayne and Lake County play at Clinton and Kane County, with Bowling Green and Dayton coming west to play Burlington and Peoria. The second round of inter-division play comes in July.

KELLER CONTINUES GREAT START

Mitch Keller just keeps putting up zeroes for Class A West Virginia (Pirates). The former Cedar Rapids Xavier prep threw five two-hit shutout innings Friday night against Lexington, striking out 10. The right-hander has not allowed a run in his first three starts and hasn't walked a batter in those 15 innings, either. He has 23 strikeouts.

How They're Doing

Colin Rea (San Diego Padres): Cascade native and former University of Northern Iowa pitcher was expected to get the start Saturday against St. Louis. Beat Pittsburgh in his previous start for his first win of the season. Is 1-1 with a 5.51 ERA, striking out 16 in 16 1/3 innings.

Scott Schebler (Cincinnati Reds): Outfielder from Solon and Cedar Rapids Prairie is 0 for his last 14 at the plate. Has .171 average in 35 at-bats, with four RBIs. Did walk twice against Jake Arrieta in the Cubs pitcher's no-hitter Thursday night.

Chad Christensen (Fort Myers/Class A): Former Cedar Rapids Washington prep is hitting .233 in 12 games for Minnesota Twins affiliate. Has a home run and five RBIs.

Matt Dermody (Dunedin/Class A): Former University of Iowa pitcher is 1-1 with a save and 2.57 earned run average in five games for Blue Jays affiliate. Has 10 strikeouts in seven innings.

Jon Keller (Bowie/Double-A): Relief pitcher and former Cedar Rapids Xavier prep had a good week, not allowing a run in 4 2/3 innings. He has lowered his ERA to 5.14 in four games and seven innings.

Sasha Kuebel (Peoria/Class A): Former Hawkeye pitcher has no record and a 4.32 ERA in five games for St. Loius Cardinals Midwest League affiliate. Had four shutout innings this week.

Derrick Loveless (Dunedin/Class A): The outfielder from Solon went 2-for-4 with three runs scored in a game earlier this week for Blue Jays affiliate. Is at .237 this season with a home run and five RBIs.

Kris Goodman (Greensboro/Class A): Former Hawkeye was reassigned to Florida Marlins extended spring training this week. In nine games for Greensboro, hit .148 with an RBI.

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