When third baseman Cam Collier homered on Aug. 31, he became just the second Reds minor leaguer since 1968 to reach the 20 home run mark as a teenager.
It hadn’t happened since Wily Mo Pena hit 26 in 2001. Prior to that, Johnny Bench was the last to do it in 1966 and 1967.
Collier was 17 years old when he was drafted 18th overall in 2022 out of Chipola (Fla.) JC. Now 19, he spent the entire season at High-A Dayton, where he was one of just eight teenagers to play even semi regularly.
Collier stood out among his teen peers at High-A. He led the cohort with 20 homers—no one else had more than 12—and 74 RBIs. He batted .248/.355/.443 in 119 games.
After a solid start to the year, some mid-year adjustments helped Collier turn things up a level.
“On the mental side and the approach,” Reds senior director of player development Jeremy Farrell said, “when you watch him, hit he gets to two strikes now (and) he goes to a pronounced two-strike approach.
“He chokes up on the bat. He’s really trying to put the ball in play—he’s made himself a tough out.
“From the physical side, his ability to stay in his legs, to repeat his swing, the ability to fall back on habits and routines that he’s created and developed to help him get right on a daily basis.”
Over the final six weeks of the season those adjustments showed up in the stat sheet. Collier began to walk more and strike out less, but he also began to hit for a lot more power.
Over his last 36 games in the Midwest League, he hit .310/.462/.586 with more walks than strikeouts.
That production helped Collier homer in the Futures Game and, at the end of the season, qualify as one of just four teenagers to hit 20 this season.