Todd Allen

Career Batting:.262 BA .325 OBP .359 SLG. 18 HR. 4,464 PA.(1908-1919)

Todd Allen was a useful 3B.

He has a strong rookie season in 1908 and then takes a few years to get his legs under him. But from 1911 through 1916–and especially 1913/1914–he would have been among the better 3B in the league, hitting for average, drawing some walks, and showing occasional power. Combine that with consistently strong defense, and you have a player who while perhaps never a star, held his value into his early 30s.

If anything, we’ve underestimated when Allen would become a full time starter, delaying that until 1913. But it’s possible he would have done so in 1911 or 1912, which would nudge his career stats up slightly. Some projections show him reaching double digit homeruns a few years, which we think is pretty ridiculous, but he did have some pop in his bat, especially for the era.

1913 is a potential all-star season, where he should show up on leaderboards for hits and doubles, but Allen never reaches those heights again, and his career really falls off in 1917, reducing him to a role player from 1917 on.

Defensively, Allen had good range and a strong arm at the hot corner. He only played a small handful of games elsewhere, as close to a one-position player as you’ll find in the NeL.

I just cannot fathom Todd Allen as a power hitter. Clearly, if that changes, the overall projections would shift significantly. I’m convinced this is a more accurate shape for his career, following a very common arc where a player has 3-6 years as a full time starter surrounded by a development and decline phase.

I do think his usage pattern remains a bit problematic–the challenge is that in 1911 his performance really warrants more time in 1912. But he struggled a lot in 1912, depressing that impulse. So we’ll stick with this until we can dig in a bit deeper in the next revision.

NameTodd Allen
ID / Statusallen01tod / Draft
Pos3B
DOB / i9s Career01/14/1885 / 1908 - 1919
BirthplaceWheatland, IN (USA)
Height / Weight5'9" / 155
B / TR / R

 

Batting Projections

YearABH2B3BHRBBSOSBCSBAOBPSLGOPS
19082656911621532113.260.300.370.670
1909236501352112452.212.247.335.582
19101863393081842.177.211.258.469
19113449319903834146.270.343.378.721
19123497719713333115.221.288.324.612
1913506165371355252299.326.389.480.869
191454116228814953228.299.358.386.744
1915530141297358566720.266.338.364.702
191650213824325963207.275.351.347.698
1917287561221283373.195.267.261.528
191820347911202482.232.300.300.600
191913337500111742.278.333.316.649
TOTALS4,0821,068215641838243920269.262.325.359.684

 

Pitching Projections