Tom Archdeacon: The wunderkind whirlwind of Dragons' Cam Collier

Apr. 6—The question took him by surprise and then it made him laugh and shake his head.

"Prodigy? Naah, I'm no prodigy," Cam Collier, the 19-year-old third baseman of the Dayton Dragons, said as he stood in the dugout tunnel at Day Air Ballpark on Thursday afternoon. "I've just worked really hard to get here and I'm reaping the benefits of that hard work."

He said his baseball work ethic comes from his dad, Lou Collier, who spent eight years in the Major Leagues and played for five different teams.

Since then, the elder Collier has remained tied to the game — as a big-league scout; a U.S. national team coach; and with the Lou Collier Baseball Association that instructs youth — and his biggest involvement has been in guiding his son on something of a wunderkind whirlwind that parallels the meteoric rise of Bryce Harper a dozen years ago.

Harper — the Philadelphia Phillies slugger who has been a seven-time All Star and twice was named the National League MVP — was drafted at age 17, the same age Collier was when the Cincinnati Reds made him a first-round pick in 2022.

Collier admitted his dad planted the seeds for his fast-track ascension.

"Knowing my dad, he probably had a ball and glove in my crib when I was born," he laughed. "I do know ever since my dad had me pick up a ball at three years old, I wanted to be a big-league ballplayer...just like him."

Lou told former sportswriter Jerry Crasnick, in a piece for the Major League Baseball Players Association website: "I always played him two years up. So, when he was seven, he was playing against kids who were nine and 10, and so forth. (And) I started to see him hold his own and fall in love with the game."

By the time Cam was finishing eighth grade, Lou and his wife, Melica, decided to move their family from their native Chicago to Austell, Georgia, in the metro Atlanta area, so Cam could play baseball outdoors almost year-round.

It also was decided Cam would give up basketball and concentrate his full sporting efforts on baseball.

Two of Lou's good friends — former big leaguers Marquis Grissom and Marvin Freeman — both lived in the area as well and Cam was around them often. Soon he was meeting baseball legends like Ken Griffey Sr. and Ken Jr., Dave Winfield and Gary Sheffield, and his own big-league dreams began taking root.

Like Harper, Cam spent just two years in high school — he went to Mount Paran Christian School in Kennesaw — and graduated at 16 by passing his GED.

He enrolled at Chipola College in Marianna, Florida and played a season for the junior college baseball power. Harper did the same when he spent a season at the College of Southern Nevada.

"I just wanted to challenge myself and face older guys," Collier said. "I felt it would get me more prepared for professional baseball instead of just continuing to play in high school for two more years."

Originally considered a top prospect for the 2023 draft, he reclassified himself for the 2022 draft.

The Reds made him the 18th overall pick — he was considered the eight-best prospect in the 2022 draft by MLB Pipeline — and signed him to a $5 million contract.

After nine games of Rookie League ball in Arizona in 2022, he played his first full pro season last year at Single-A Daytona and, at 18, was the youngest every-day player in the Florida State League.

As the High-A Dragons opened the 2024 season Friday night against the visiting Lansing Lugnuts, Collier was the youngest player on the Dayton roster. He'll be 19 all season since his birthday isn't until Nov. 20.

"Cam is definitely blessed with youth," said Dragons manager Vince Harrison Jr. "For a guy to be that young and be at this level already is something special.

"He's a big sponge right now. He has a lot of skills already, but I'm going to love seeing him improve every day. He's going to get better and better."

Following in dad's footsteps

Lou Collier's baseball path was more routine than his son's.

After growing up in Chicago, he excelled at nearby Triton College, a junior college that also produced Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett and longtime big league outfielder Lance Johnson.

He was selected by Pittsburgh in the 31st round of the MLB Draft and spent five seasons in the minor leagues until he debuted with the Pirates in June of 1997.

In an eight-year span he would also play for the Milwaukee Brewers, Montral Expos, Boston Red Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies.

A third baseman, shortstop, and outfielder, he would play 315 big league games and hit .241. He then played in Korea before retiring in 2007.

He's been especially hands on in guiding his son through baseball's waters.

"Everybody I talk to tells me what a hard worker my dad was and that has been etched in my memory," Cam said. "Coming up my dad was my No. 1 baseball hero and I've tried to follow in his footsteps."

While his dad was 5-foot-10, Cam is 6-foot-2 and weighs 215 pounds. He said his size comes from his mom's side of the family. Just as importantly, he said she always lends him an ear, no matter what the situation:

"She and my dad are a team. My mom's like the good cop. My dad is on me a lot and my mom is there to support me in everything.

"She's already been through the baseball life with my dad, so I can ask her about anything, too. She's always there for me, whether I'm struggling, or things are going good. She's played a big part in my baseball career."

Once he signed his big contract, Cam said he was able to do something he had wanted to do for a good while:

"It was always my dream growing up to help my parents.

"I'd told my mom, 'The first thing I'm gonna do when I get drafted is get you a car and get you a home.' And that's what I've done. I wanted my family to have everything it wanted."

He said he got his mom "a new white Audi."

"They've been with me the whole time and sacrificed so much so I could reach my dream," he said. "The least I could do is give back some things they deserve."

He was asked, "So, does that make you their favorite son?"

"Yeah, I am their favorite son," he said, before adding a laugh and a disclaimer.

"I have an older sister and a younger sister.

"Actually, I'm the only son."

'Keep playing the way I knew how'

Collier struggled some during the early part of last season.

"I put a lot of pressure on myself being a first-round pick," he admitted. "I wanted to be 'That Guy.' I wanted to make all the plays.

"Eventually, I learned I didn't have to prove myself like that. If I wasn't good enough, I wouldn't have been drafted by the Reds in the first round. I just kind of had to take it as a gift from God to be a first-round pick. I just needed to keep playing the way I knew how."

He ended the season on a tear and hit .351 in 21 games in August.

Over the years he said he's banked on lessons and advice from his dad:

"One of the best things he's ever told me was 'Don't let how you feel mess up what you know.'"

He said his parents will be here this weekend to see him play and, like always, he figures his dad will weigh in with him in real time:

"He's always trying to help me out and a lot of time he'll text me during the game and tell me what I'm doing wrong."

And how does Cam deal with that?

He hesitated a couple of seconds and then, with a growing smile, he offered:

"The greatest thing is that I don't have my phone during the game. I leave it back in the clubhouse, so I can't see all that."