Brewers' unsung hero wins major award after impressive month of July

Back in spring training, the Milwaukee Brewers were trying to figure out who would replace an injured Blake Perkins as the team's fourth outfielder to begin the season. Jackson Chourio, Garrett Mitchell, and Sal Frelick seemingly had the starting jobs locked up, while Christian Yelich looked destined to be the team's everyday designated hitter. After trying out a few veteran outfielders, Mark Canha and Manuel Margot, in spring training, the Brewers ultimately decided to go with switch-hitting rookie Isaac Collins.

The Brewers acquired Collins in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 Draft back in 2022. He confusingly was not protected by the Colorado Rockies and immediately made a name for himself in Milwaukee's farm system, posting a .840 OPS with 10 HR in his first season in the organization. After another strong performance in his second year in the Brewers' minor league system, 2024, Collins was promoted to the big league roster for a brief stint when the rosters expanded in September of last year. His first taste of the major leagues didn't go as he hoped, but not much can be drawn from an 11-game sample size.

This season, since easing into an everyday role after Garrett Mitchell went on the IL for what will end up being the rest of the season, Collins has been incredible. Not only is he playing excellent defense in left field, but he's also quietly been one of the Brewers' best hitters. For his impressive month of July, which was by some metrics not even as good as his performance in June, Collins earned an elusive NL Rookie of the Month Award.

Isaac Collins wins NL Rookie of the Month in July

After posting a .919 OPS in the month of June, Collins barely lost the NL Rookie of the Month Award to his teammate, Jacob Misiorowski, who became the ninth player in Brewers history to win the award. Now, one month later, Collins adds his name to that list, making him the 10th rookie to win Rookie of the Month in franchise history. Ryan Braun won NL Rookie of the Month in June and July of 2007 as part of his record-breaking Rookie of the Year season, but The Miz and Collins became the first Brewers teammates to win the award in back-to-back months. In fact, they became the first Brewers teammates to take home a Rookie of the Month Award in the same season in franchise history.

Ironically, by the numbers, Collins had a worse month of July than June. While his batting average did rise from .288 in June to .321 in July, his OPS went from .919 to .853 as noted in the graphic above. Meanwhile, he continues to play Gold Glove-worthy defense in left field, where he leads all major league left fielders in Outs Above Average (OAA).

Collins' role on the Brewers has become even more important in recent days after Jackson Chourio was placed on the IL. Collins, who has been playing virtually every day, will be relied upon even more with Chourio out, and could even replace him near the top of the Brewers' lineup.

What began as a surprise inclusion on the Brewers Opening Day roster for Collins has become one of the most impressive breakout seasons in all of baseball. It's a testament to Collins' resilience, commitment to the Brewers' philosophy, and willingness to do whatever it takes to help the team win.