Baseball America Names Dragons Cam Collier as Reds Minor League Player of the Year

September 23, 2024 – Midwest League (MWL)
Dayton Dragons News Release

Dayton, Ohio – Dayton Dragons 2024 third baseman Cam Collier has been selected by Baseball America as their choice for Cincinnati Reds Minor League Player of the Year.

Baseball America is the trade publication for Minor League Baseball and has covered the sport for more than 40 years, pioneering the creation of “top prospect” lists in the 1980’s. The Reds will name their official Minor League Player of the Year, known at the Sheldon “Chief” Bender Award, at a later date.

Baseball America’s presentation of the award included the following criteria: “For this award, we look primarily at production, but we also factor age and level of competition.”

Collier was named last week as the third baseman on the Midwest League Full-Season All-Star team. He spent the entire season with the Dragons, blasting 20 home runs while driving in 74 runs. Collier was the Reds first round draft pick in 2022 out of Chipola College. At the age of 19, he was the league’s third youngest player among those who accumulated at least 300 plate appearances this season.

Collier led all Reds Minor League players in 2024 in RBI and runs scored. He finished tied for third in home runs, third in slugging percentage and OPS, and fifth in hits while batting .248. Collier played in 119 of the Dragons 132 games.

This was the third straight season that the player selected by Baseball America as Reds Minor League Player of the Year had spent all or a large portion of the season with the Dragons. Outfielder Blake Dunn was selected for the honor in 2023 after shortstop Elly De La Cruz was named in 2022.

The Dragons won the Midwest League East Division Second Half title in 2024 to earn a playoff berth. Their winning percentage in the Second Half of .615 ranks third in franchise history for best winning percentage in a half season, trailing only 2011, 2nd Half (48-22, .686); and 2007, 1st Half (44-26, .629). The Dragons won 40 games in a half for the first time since the 1st Half in 2017 when they went 41-29 (Half-Seasons were 70 games prior to 2021; there are now 66 games). The Dragons finished with a winning record in both halves for the second time in franchise history (2001: 41-29 & 41-28). The Dragons full-season winning percentage of .565 ranked third in franchise history, trailing 2011 (.593) and 2001 (.590). The Dragons won the Second Half East Division title for just the second time in franchise history (2011). They have two first…