Cory Van Allen

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Washington Nationals #28 prospect in 2009
  An unsigned third-round pick by the Dodgers out of high school in 2003, Van Allen had a decent three-year career at Baylor but never became the staff ace the Bears envisioned. Since the Nationals took him in the fifth round in 2006, he has been hampered by nagging injuries, from toe and chest problems in 2007 to forearm tendinitis that caused him to miss nearly all of June and July in 2008. He finished the year with a 2-1, 5.84 stint in the Arizona Fall League, and he showed good stuff there. Van Allen has an athletic frame, loose arm action and decent command of a three-pitch mix. He does a good job pitching off his 90-91 mph fastball, which touched 92-93 in the AFL. He has been caught between a curveball and a slider for much of his career, but he settled on a slider with good depth in 2008. He ordinarily can throw his average changeup for strikes, but he has trouble commanding all three of his pitches at the same time. If he can put it all together, Van Allen can be a strike-throwing No. 4 starter in the big leagues. He's likely to return to Double-A in 2009 and could arrive in the big leagues in the second half.
• 
  Ranked Washington Nationals #28 prospect in 2007
  The third-highest unsigned pick from the 2003 draft, Van Allen fell to the fifth round in 2006 after failing to develop his secondary pitches or command as scouts hoped in three years at Baylor. With an ideal pitcher's frame, experience at a big-time college program and tantalizing stuff, the Nationals considered Van Allen a steal in the fifth round and signed him for $170,000. He attacks hitters with a changeup that can be above-average at times, though he doesn't always locate it where he wants. Van Allen also has good fastball velocity for a lefthander, pitching at 89-91 mph and touching 93, but the pitch lacks life. He threw a slider and a curveball in college, but his three-quarters arm slot is better suited for the slider, which is still developing. The Nationals want Van Allen to sharpen the slider and learn to command it more consistently. He has the build, stuff and control to be a No. 4 starter in the big leagues, but he's got work to do to reach that ceiling. He should begin 2007 in low Class A.