The Reds have agreed to terms with first-round pick Cam Collier on a $5MM deal, tweets Mark Sheldon of MLB.com. R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports reported over the weekend that Collier was expected to receive a bonus in that range. That’s well north of the $3.6598MM slot value associated with the #18 pick, with which the infielder was selected. Collier had been committed to the University of Louisville, but he’ll instead make the jump to pro ball.
The overslot bonus reflects the fact that he was widely regarded as one of the best players in the class. Each of Baseball America, The Athletic, MLB Pipeline, ESPN and FanGraphs placed him among their top ten prospects in pre-draft rankings. Keith Law of the Athletic was the most bullish, naming Collier the #2 prospect in the draft. The $5MM bonus falls between the slot values of the ninth and tenth overall selections, better aligning with his prospect reputation than the #18 pick would suggest.
A left-handed hitter, Collier won’t turn 18 years old until November. He was originally slated to be a member of the 2023 class, but he enrolled at a Florida junior college this spring to qualify for this year’s draft. Despite his youth, Collier had very good numbers in JUCO ball, reaffirming his stock as one of the better offensive players in the class. Evaluators suggest the 6’2″ infielder should blossom into an above-average to plus hitter with solid raw power. Collier has already moved to third base, but reports indicate he has a decent chance to stick at the hot corner, where his plus arm should be an asset.
Glad he signed but the Reds had to hamstring and underslot the next 10 picks in order to sign him. They definitely put all their eggs in a basket with Collier. Time will tell how well it worked out….
They still drafted I think like 10 of the top 250 draft prospects. I think they did alright but time will tell.
Cam’s signing bonus is more than his father (Lou) made his entire baseball career.
He’s worth it. After Drew Jones and Termarr Johnson, he’s the best player in the draft. He’s going to be a starting major league 3B by the time he’s 20, and an all-star by 22.
They got a top 5 draft prospect at 18. He was paid as such. Solid grab for the Reds. I was hoping the Phils would grab him the pick earlier. Crawford ended up being about 1 to 1.5 mil cheaper
Last year the Marlins took SS Khalil Watson who dropped from being a projected Top 10 pick at pick #16 one spot in front of the Reds who selected at #17 and took Matt McLain. As I was refreshing the draft on my phone I kept fearing the Phillies were going to do the same thing to the Reds this year with Collier. I like the Phillies pick of Crawford as well and think both teams did well but I was so freaking happy to see Cam Collier fall into the Reds lap.
Just looked at his stats….Watson is having a rough year.
Seems to me the majority of these guys salary is mostly understood before draft. So teams draft accordingly to affordability. Meaning if they get a top 5 guy w 17 then they need to take less expensive players over the draft to make up the difference. And that kind of makes sense with their next few picks.
MLB draft is such a crapshoot that as long as they got those top 10 signed (and they did) that #212 is just as likely to make the majors as pick #165. So I’m 100% for signing a top 10 talent at #18.
Worse case scenario: another Suarez that they trade for nothing.
Return from the Mariners looks pretty decent. Williamson top 100 prospect and Phillips destroyed high A before he got promoted
That’s a negative, one of the worst trades in recent Reds history.
That’s what the Mariners are saying now.
You have to give baseball trades 2 or 3 years to see how they work out. When the Reds acquired Suarez fans complained that they gave Alfredo Simon away for nothing and look how that trade turned out in their favor. Knee jerk reactions to baseball trades aren’t always the correct assessment. If Williamson blossoms into pitcher that he has the capability of being then you may have Mariners fans complaining in a couple years that they gave him away for nothing. Dunn could do well with the change of scenery as well and Philips could become a productive major leaguer too. I know that is a lot of what if’s but Winker hasn’t set the world on fire this year and Suarez couldn’t hit the Mendoza line the last two years in Cincinnati so you had to move him while you could. As much as people complained about the return in that trade, it’s nowhere near as bad as a lot of Reds fans have made it out to be.
No way, they sold Alfredo at the right time. I remember being very happy with that trade the day it happened. Dude was tanking fast.
They got suarez for alfredo simon who was cut by detroit the same year. Suarez was a two time all star. I dont understand the argument
When the Reds traded Simon he was having a great year. I want to say his record was like 11-3 when he got moved so Reds fans weren’t happy about the deal right away.
Simon was traded in the off season, after making the All Star team in 2014. I remember many being happy with the Simon trade, because we knew he couldn’t repeat that level of performance. He was a waiver claim a few years prior. The crazy part of the trade was that Suarez was viewed by many as the throw in piece to whatever prospect they received. That guy never made it out of the minors and Suarez became a star. I think the shoulder injury is what really hurt Suarez, he seems to be hitting much better now.
He had a good season but his August and Sept was rough. He already had started to tank back to reality. Pitched over his head for a while. I was happy they got anything for him.
I can’t believe Keith Law still gets paid to do his job!
He hasn’t been paid in years, but keeps sending in articles. He’s the Milton Waddams of journalism.
Son of Lou Collier.