Some tough edges have to be smoothed out, however Cam Collier might be contributing to the Cincinnati Reds offense within the not-too-distant future. Assigned a forty five FV by Eric Longenhagen, the 21-year-old nook infielder is coming off of a 2025 marketing campaign through which he put up a 123 wRC+ over 396 plate appearances throughout three ranges (primarily Double-A). Among the many few downsides was a dearth of dingers — he went yard simply 4 occasions — however that presents as a blip versus a barometer. Our lead prospect analyst grades Collier’s uncooked energy as above common.
I broached the facility outage once I talked to Collier throughout his stint within the Arizona Fall League, the place he concluded his marketing campaign with the Peoria Javelinas. He’d hammered 20 homers with the Excessive-A Dayton Dragons in 2024, so why so few of them in his third full skilled season?
“I’ve tried to not give it some thought an excessive amount of,” replied Collier, whom the Reds drafted 18th total in 2022 out of Chipola Faculty. “This 12 months, I needed to actually get again to being a hitter. I needed to have constant good at-bats, and whereas that didn’t produce as many homers, it produced much more base hits. I used to be proud of that.”
The stat sheet displays a few of his focused strides. After batting .248 with a 25.0% strikeout fee in 2024, Collier improved to .279 with an only-incrementally-higher 26.3% Okay-rate towards the next degree of competitors. Furthermore, the exit velocities he produced when he squared up the baseball had been spectacular — which remained the case within the desert. At 113.1 mph, Collier had the hardest-hit ball within the Fall Stars Recreation.
I had learn studies that his exit velos and hard-hit charges had been plus, so I introduced that up as properly. Was it maybe a little bit counterintuitive that his slugging proportion (.384) and residential run totals had been as little as they had been?
“Hey, that’s baseball,” shrugged Collier, who might have introduced up, however didn’t, the hand/wrist points that hampered him all through 2025. (A torn thumb ligament in spring coaching required surgical procedure and resulted in his not taking part in for a full-season affiliate till early Might.) “Generally they gained’t exit of the park, but when I’m placing good swings on the ball, good issues are going to occur. I do know that [home runs] will are available in time.”
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Reds normal supervisor Brad Meador supplied comparable ideas when requested about Collier’s offensive profile.
“Once we drafted him, we thought he was only a good, pure hitter,” Meador informed me throughout final month’s GM Conferences. “He was a younger hitter, clearly, who we thought would develop into his energy. I nonetheless really feel that he has an opportunity to be a very good hitter, foul pole to foul pole. I feel he’s at his finest when he’s simply centered on being a hitter. We’ll let the facility come.”
Driving the ball within the air extra constantly would assist. Collier’s fly ball fee this 12 months was simply 30.5%, rating him twenty fifth among the many 38 Cincinnati farmhands who got here to the plate 300 or extra occasions. Adjustments might be so as, and so they might embody tweaks to how he wields the lumber.
“My bat path and my swing have all the time been the identical,” mentioned Collier, whose left-handed stroke is conducive to crunching pitches down within the zone, however much less so when choices are elevated. “I might need fluctuated stances each on occasion, however I’ve all the time tried to maintain the identical path. The identical mindset as properly.”
That may be a mindset past what he’s searching for within the batter’s field. Collier expressed that he’s all ears to suggestions, which he will get regularly. Once I spoke to him in Arizona, he’d not too long ago heard from Reds minor league hitting coordinator Tyler Henson, who had been diligently monitoring his progress. Hanson requested Collier if he knew what he had been doing incorrect, and the teen responded that he was most likely leaking ahead out of his bottom, not permitting himself to remain balanced and thru the ball. That’s exactly what it was. The next day, he went into the cage and labored on the wanted correction.
Directionally, his 2025 spray chart was indicative of an all-fields method. Collier was 38.0% pull, 33.2% oppo, and 28.8% middle — the final of these areas of the sphere being his goal.
“I’m all the time trying left-center to right-center,” he defined. “We name it the commercial zone. One of the best ways I can say it’s that I attempt to hit the heater again by the center, after which the breaking balls and comfortable stuff to the pull facet.”
Which brings us to the facet of the infield the place he’ll in the end spend the vast majority of his time. Completely a 3rd baseman coming into the season, Collier began simply 21 video games on the sizzling nook, with one other 50 coming at first base (he additionally served as a DH on 23 events). The positional distribution was extra pronounced within the AFL: he was stationed at third base 4 occasions, and at first base 16 occasions.
Getting extra snug throughout the diamond is a cause Collier performed in Peoria.
“He had a hand damage on the finish of spring coaching and missed the early a part of a part of the 12 months, so we needed him to get these further at-bats,” Meador mentioned. “However he’s additionally studying a brand new place. That’s one other a part of it.”
A tough-hitting former first-rounder who made his main league debut on the primary of September can be a part of the equation. Chosen 14 picks after Collier within the 2022 draft, Sal Stewart has likewise been a 3rd baseman by commerce.
“They type of traveled collectively from affiliate to affiliate, so we began transferring each of them,” Meador defined. “Sal was going from third to second, and Cam from third to first, so together with third base they may every have one other place. We’ve achieved that with just a few different guys during the last 5-10 years. Elly [De La Cruz] and Matt McLain got here up as shortstops and had been going to be reaching the large leagues across the similar time, so we needed them have no less than a few positions that they had been acquainted with. Once we really feel that somebody’s bat is prepared, we don’t need to should introduce him to a brand new place.”
So, simply how near prepared is Collier?
“I wouldn’t search for him to interrupt on this coming 12 months, however you by no means know,” Meador mentioned. “Guys transfer, and he can swing the bat, so we’ll see.”