Allard leads Pitchers of the Week with 11 K's
One of Kolby Allard's best games yet felt like just another day on the field for the Braves' No. 3 prospect."I don't feel like it's like a breakout start or anything like that," Allard told MiLB.com after his gem last Thursday night. "I just feel like I went out there
One of
"I don't feel like it's like a breakout start or anything like that," Allard told MiLB.com after his gem last Thursday night. "I just feel like I went out there and did what I expect of myself to do.
The Southern League disagreed. Allard was named the circuit's Pitcher of the Week on Monday after his 11-strikeout performance helped Double-A Mississippi defeat host Birmingham. Allard, MLB.com's No. 46 overall prospect, allowed just three hits over six scoreless innings and did not walk a batter.
• View the Player of the Week winners »
"It's a good feeling to get out there and be throwing the ball well," Allard said. "You try not really to think about that kind of stuff. That's stuff that's out of your control, so you just go out there each and every day to get better and every fifth day go out there and execute your pitches. For the most part, no matter what level you're at, if you're executing your pitches, you're going to get outs for the most part."
The Braves' first-round pick in 2015 struck out at least one batter in five of his six innings. All the hits he allowed came off the bat of leadoff man and 2014 Olympic speed skating silver medalist
"Me and [catcher Kade Scivicque] had a pretty good plan going into the game," Allard said. "We executed it pretty well. When you can work pretty quick and get in that rhythm, it's good for your confidence, good for your defense, good for everyone. It's good that we could establish that tempo early."
Allard, Atlanta's top pitching prospect, improved to 2-1 with the win. He has a 1.36 ERA, which is third in the Southern League, and has 28 strikeouts and seven walks in 33 innings this season.
The 19-year-old's most recent Pitcher of the Week award came July 17, 2016, with Rookie-level Danville, when he held Kingsport to a pair of hits and struck out seven over six innings. His stellar season last summer between Danville and Class A Rome helped him jump straight to Double-A this spring.
Below is a full list of the Minor League Pitchers of the Week for May 1-7:
Danny Wild is an editor for MiLB.com. Follow his MLBlog column, Minoring in Twitter.