'Nobody knew who he was ... and now they do': Collins extends July tear

ATLANTA -- It was just last week that Brewers manager Pat Murphy declared to a room of reporters, “We don’t talk enough about Isaac Collins.”

On Monday, there were more reasons to talk about the 28-year-old when he was named National League Rookie of the Month on the heels of a monster July, then started padding his August numbers with a full-count, go-ahead, three-run home run that propelled the Brewers to a 3-1 win over the Braves at Truist Park.

The Brewers only had three hits all night and two didn’t leave the infield, but Collins’ seventh homer made a winner of right-hander Quinn Priester, who continued to pay dividends on the April trade that brought him to Milwaukee by bouncing back from a home run on his very first pitch to deliver seven innings of two-hit, one-run ball to win his 10th consecutive decision. That matches the franchise record set by Chris Bosio and Cal Eldred in 1992.

“I was kind of thinking about it today in the fifth inning, this kid [Priester] kind of represents who we are,” Murphy said. “Nobody knew who Quinn Priester was, and now they do. Nobody knew who -- what’s Collins’ first name?”

It’s difficult to know whether he’s serious in these instances, so it’s best to just remind him.

It’s Isaac.

“Nobody knew who he was, either. And now they do,” Murphy said. “That’s just a great – and somebody else will emerge, too, like [Brice] Turang did last year, and Sal [Frelick]. It’s so great for me to sit back and watch these guys become who they are.”

The Brewers improved to 22-6 in their last 28 road games and pushed a season-high 24 games over .500 at 68-44 – the best record in the Majors with 50 games to play.

But bringing the focus back to Collins as instructed by the skipper, should the conversation aim even higher than monthly honors, or the Brewers’ annual Unsung Hero Award?

Is the 28-year-old Minnesotan on a trajectory to becoming an NL Rookie of the Year Award frontrunner?

“It’s not why I play,” Collins said when presented with the possibility. “It’s just a byproduct of executing.”

Just being in that conversation is quite an unexpected development for Collins, who came to the Brewers as a Minor League Rule 5 Draft pick in 2022, cracked MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 Brewers Prospects this spring at No. 30, then cracked the Opening Day roster after a fractured shin felled outfielder Blake Perkins.

Collins is a natural infielder, and he spent most of his time in Spring Training on the infield with coach Matt Erickson. But with Perkins and then Garrett Mitchell landing on the injured list, the Brewers wound up with a need in the outfield that grew even larger when Jackson Chourio went down last week with a strained right hamstring, and Collins, once a multi-sport star in high school in suburban Minneapolis, has made the adjustments.

After a .919 OPS in June, he was named National League Rookie of the Month for July after hitting .321 with a .411 on-base percentage, 25 hits and 11 walks, all tops among NL rookies for the month. When those numbers flashed across the screen Monday during an appearance on MLB Network, Collins was shocked.

His month was really that good. And after reaching safely three times on Monday (walk, homer, hit by pitch), he owns a .281/.384/.418 slash line -- the top average and on-base percentage among NL rookies.

Collins' fielding run value (five) also leads NL left fielders, and he's sixth among NL outfielders in outs above average, per Statcast.

"It's just his consistency," Murphy said. "Defense, offense, baserunning, teammate. His third at-bat is better than his second at-bat. He's just got the right temperament. He's relentless and he kind of does it in his own manner.

"He doesn't look for attention or try to stand out or be the guy that's noticed. He just plays with consistency, and I love his style."

Murphy isn’t alone.

“My first memory of him was in Colorado, when he went full speed into a wall and banged up his knee. I was like, ‘Oh, no. That looked bad,’” Priester said. “And then he was out there playing days later, if not the next day. From that point, I knew he played hard. Then we had that series in Chicago where his power woke up, and since then it’s been really, really fun to watch him play.”

Collins himself pointed out that there’s a long way to go, but his big numbers in June and July have thrust him into the middle of the NL Rookie of the Year Award conversation with contenders like Braves catcher Drake Baldwin, Marlins catcher Agustín Ramírez and, before his chances were dinged by an injured list placement over the weekend, Brewers pitcher Jacob Misiorowski.

Here are some of Collins’ ranks among NL rookie hitters:

Average (min. 150 at-bats)
1. Collins, MIL, .281
2. Baldwin, ATL, .279
3. Caleb Durbin, MIL, .266

On-base percentage (min. 150 at-bats)
1. Collins, MIL, .384
2. Liam Hicks, MIA, .356
3. Baldwin, ATL, .348

Slugging percentage (min. 150 at-bats)
1. Ramírez, MIA, .464
2. Baldwin, ATL, .459
3. Collins, MIL, .418

On-base plus slugging (min. 150 at-bats)
1. Baldwin, ATL, .807
2. Collins, MIL, .802
3. Ramírez, MIA, .752

Home runs
1. Ramírez, MIA, 17
2. Baldwin, ATL, 11
t3. Collins, MIL, 7
t3. Dylan Crews, WAS, 7

Stolen bases
1. Matt Shaw, CHC, 14
t2. Luisangel Acuña, NYM, 12
t2. Collins, MIL, 12
t2. Hyeseong Kim, LAD, 12

Weighted runs created plus (min. 150 at-bats)
1. Collins, MIL, 131
2. Baldwin, ATL, 127
3. Durbin, MIL, 108

fWAR
1. Collins, MIL, 2.5
2. Baldwin, ATL, 2.0
3. Durbin, MIL, 1.7

“It’s hard not to acknowledge and think about that stuff, but we’ve still got two months of baseball left,” Collins said. “I’ll take it one day at a time.”

That’s the kind of wisdom that comes with experience. Even for a rookie.

“Every one of us, we’re on our own paths,” Collins said. “Some guys like Chourio get here sooner than others, and guys like me, it takes a little bit. The Minor Leagues was a long journey, but I’m glad I went through all those tough times, because that’s what’s going to help me get over the slumps up here.”