Marlins '21 pick Allen locked in on dream

Consider Tanner Allen a master of tunnel vision.

When his Mississippi State program captured the College World Series last month in Omaha, Neb., there were 24,000 fans in the stands. In his professional debut for the Florida Complex League Marlins on July 29, only representatives of the ballclubs were in attendance at the Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium complex in Jupiter, Fla. During his four-year tenure with the Bulldogs, Allen's sole focus was on the program -- not what was going on in the Majors. That mindset, he believes, separates him from others and will work in his favor on his journey to The Show.

"I'm just going to play really hard, because I've had a dream to play in the big leagues since I was a little kid," Allen told MLB.com after his Low-A Jupiter debut on Aug. 4. "I'm not going to do that by thinking I'm better than somebody just because of my age. I'm going to just play hard every single day."

Allen, 23, is older than his competition, but his opponents have more experience in pro ball. Allen, Miami's fourth-round pick in the 2021 Draft, spent three games with the FCL Marlins before receiving a promotion to Jupiter. In his first five starts with the Hammerheads, Allen hit leadoff -- something he did during his high school years -- but went hitless in 15 at-bats with a pair of walks and three strikeouts. Moved to the fifth spot in the order for Tuesday's game against Daytona, he collected his first two pro knocks -- a single and a triple. On Wednesday, he singled and walked.

Results aside, Allen knew there would be a learning curve. Allen anticipated one of the early challenges would be getting used to a schedule that differs from his routine at Mississippi State. One of his main goals is to improve on defense; Allen has appeared at all three outfield spots, though only in left for the Hammerheads. Over his final two collegiate seasons, he appeared in right. In his first two, it was the corner-infield positions. Allen also would like to steal more bases. He had 11 in 14 chances as a senior after recording just one in the previous three years.

"He's a little bit older," director of amateur scouting DJ Svihlik said after drafting Allen. "We wanted to sign Tanner Allen last year really bad. Couldn't do it. So he comes back to school, and he proves to everybody that he's the guy. He goes off and becomes the SEC Player of the Year, and we feel very fortunate that we were able to acquire him. In terms of what type of player he is -- a Corey Dickerson type of player. He plays extremely hard, can flat-out hit, can play multiple outfield positions, very accomplished. He should be able to move fairly quickly and start at a higher level. We're very fortunate to get him, because he was a guy that we really, really liked last year, just didn't have a chance to sign him."

Following Allen's debut in Jupiter, fellow 2021 Draft picks Bennett Hostetler (18th round) and Cody Morissette (second round) joined him. Entering Thursday, Hostetler is batting .368 with three doubles and seven RBIs in five games, while Morissette is hitting .308 with one double, one triple, one RBI and six walks in four games.

The FCL club includes 2021 Draft picks catchers Joe Mack (Competitive Balance Round A) and Sam Praytor (sixth round); infielder Jordan McCants (third round); right-handers Gabe Bierman (seventh), Jake Schrand (ninth round), Hunter Perdue (10th round) and Jesse Bergin (11th round); left-hander Pat Monteverde (eighth round) and outfielder Noah Williamson (19th round).

All of them share the dream of reaching the Majors. Does Allen, a national champion, have a timeline in mind?

"Baseball is such a hard sport, and it's probably the hardest sport in the world," Allen said, "so I just take it day by day ... and then just play hard and let everything else take care of itself."