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.
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 delivering 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.
But speaking of 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?
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.