Cincinnati Reds infield prospect Cam Collier said that he didn’t take it personally when he was a teenage prospect who received criticism from analysts and people around the game for the shape that he was in. Cam’s dad, Lou Collier, was a big leaguer. Cam grew up around the game, so he saw up close the types of athletes that the best big leaguers are.
He knew that he’d have to get to that level.
“I was a 17-year-old kid,” Collier said. “Now, I’m 21. It’s a lot of mental things and a lot of body toneness that I’m finally getting into. It’s just growing up and eliminating things that weren’t helping me get to where I needed to be. Ultimately, putting in that extra effort to get to where I want to go.”
Last spring, Collier was in big league camp and tore the UCL in his thumb. The injury kept him out until the middle of June. After he got hurt, he met with Terry Francona.
“We sat and talked to him last spring,” Francona said. “Let’s try to take something that could be a negative and turn it into a positive. Work on your body. He sure did. He did a great job.”
While Collier was injured last year, he attacked his training.
“I took that message and ran with it,” Collier said. “Him telling me what I needed to do, I got right to it. I knew it was something I needed for the rest of my career to take it to the next step.”
That carried into the offseason, and “best shape of his life” applies to Collier this spring as much as any player here in Goodyear.
It’s been a few years since the Reds drafted Collier in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft. But because he was the youngest hitter in the draft at 17 years old that year, he’s still a very young guy at 21 years old. In Double-A in 2025, as one of the youngest guys in the entire league, Collier hit .263 with a .724 OPS.
While the stats weren’t great, Collier was proud with how he responded after the thumb injury.
“It was pretty good, being able to come back after a tough thing in my life,” Collier said. “Bouncing back the way I did was good. I grew as a mature hitter. I grew in the way I dominated my at-bats and actually took at-bats instead of just free swinging.”
Collier said that he has become a better student of the game, is more consistent day-to-day and is “astronomically” more athletic than he was a few years ago.
He’s a first-round talent because of his natural ability to hit and dangerous pull-side power.
“There’s a lot to like,” Francona said.
In addition to his athleticism, defense has been a big emphasis in Collier’s development. He’s more comfortable at third base, where he has played for most of his career, than first base, which he has also started playing. He’s working toward being more consistent at both spots, and he’s splitting his time pretty evenly between the two positions.
“Tito wants people who can make some plays and be consistent out there,” Collier said. “I’m trying to be as consistent as possible so I can go out there and perform for him.”
In the 2022 MLB Draft, Collier was the Reds’ first draft pick. Their second draft pick was a teenage Sal Stewart. Collier and Stewart played together at several levels in the Reds’ farm system.
“He’s a dog,” Collier said. “I’ve watched the journey. I’m so proud of him. He talked about it at a young age when he first got here. He went out there and accomplished everything I knew he was going to do.”Collier learned from watching Stewart’s success in the big leagues last September.
“I want to just continue to get better and keep working,” Collier said. “Hopefully at the end of the day, I get the call. You’ve got to trust whatever they need from you.”
CHASE PETTY
When he made his big league debut last April, Petty was the youngest starter to appear in a big league game in 2025. He appeared in three big league games and allowed 13 earned runs. Petty was also the youngest pitcher to appear in a game for the Triple-A Louisville Bats last season, and he posted a 6.39 ERA at that level.
“A lot of downs,” Petty said. “I don’t consider them failures. They’re just learning curves. You understand how to attack hitters more and prepare better.”
The Reds put Petty in a very tough spot, especially when they had him spend some time in the Reds’ bullpen because they needed a longman available to cover innings.
“It was a little tough going up and down and having the inconsistencies,” Petty said. “It’s all a learning curve.”
On the mound, he really struggled in the big leagues.
“You just want to compete and be the best version of yourself,” Petty said. “You want to be one of the best guys up there. You don’t want to go up there and do what I did. It’s a cool experience to say that I’ve gone through now. I’ve gone through the hardships. I can really be graceful to myself to understand that I was 22 years old.”
When he was optioned back to Triple-A during the summer, he focused on throwing more strikes. Petty says that “didn’t work the greatest” as he allowed too much hard contact.
What Petty really needed was a swing and miss pitch. Working at the Baseball Performance Center during the offseason with private pitching coach Mike Adams, Petty developed a new kick changeup.
“It’s almost like holding a circle change, spike up the middle finger on the seams and let it rip,” Petty said. “When it’s good, it’s going to be really good.”
The kick changeup goes the opposite way as his sinker and allows Petty to use the entire plate. He also worked on the shape of his sweeper to get more swing and miss from right-handed batters.
“He has good stuff,” Reds assistant pitching coach Matt Tracy said. “He’s so young. You forget about that. We’ve seen him a bit. He’s still really, really young. There’s a ton of development left for him to get. He looks good in camp. I liked his first live BP. He just has to be a bit more aggressive, keep trying to figure out who he is as a pitcher and master that.”
HÉCTOR RODRÍGUEZ
“He can flat out hit,” Terry Francona said about the 21-year-old outfielder who has raked at every level. Last September, the Reds discussed calling Rodríguez up the big leagues. There’s a lot to like about his bat, and I profiled Rodríguez’s journey earlier this offseason at this link.
What he’s working on this spring is his defense.
“From last year to this year, he has come a tremendous way in the drill work we’re doing,” outfield coach Collin Cowgill said. “The best part about him is he cares. He works his (tail) off. He’s a lot of fun. He’s going to be just fine. He’s going to have to continue to work. The days of him being treated like a liability are over. He’s going to catch the ball. His mindset is that he’s going to get better. He’s going to do that.”
EDWIN ARROYO
He’s heading to the World Baseball Classic and will be under a lot of pressure as the shortstop of team Puerto Rico, which I wrote about at this link.
Today, Francona said about Arroyo, “We try to be really honest with guys. There’s going to be a need. We don’t know when it is. Go knock the door down. It might not be on your time table. But if you can help us, you’ll get in.”
He had a nice year last year coming off Tommy John.
It’s a really simple approach for him. He has a really good four-seam and a good slider. A two-pitch mix as a starter, that can work. He’s working on the changeup. It looks a bit better. I’m excited to see him compete in games and show the staff what he can do. I love being around him.
JOSE FRANCO
The 25-year-old was a breakout pitcher in the farm system last year as he posted a 3.11 ERA between Double-A and Triple-A with 118 strikeouts in 110 innings. He showed enough that he’s the only starting pitcher in big league camp who doesn’t already have big league experience.
“It’s a really simple approach for him,” Tracy said. “He has a really good four-seam and a good slider. A two-pitch mix as a starter, that can work. He’s working on the changeup. It looks a bit better. I’m excited to see him compete in games and show the staff what he can do. I love being around him.”
Franco missed the entire 2023 season after having Tommy John surgery. That became a turning point for him.
“I concentrated on one thing,” Franco said via interpreter Tomás Vera. “If you work hard, you’re going to get better. It was super hard to do that after the surgery. I thank the rehab department and the staff who helped me. Also, the mental performance people. It was not easy.”
He was solid in 2024, and the big step took place in 2025.
“I felt really good,” Franco said. “Really satisfied with what I was able to do.”
He describes himself as a power pitcher. He describes his fastball as “really fast and really powerful.” He says that his slider is the pitch that has improved the most over the last year, and he’s working to develop that into an even better strikeout pitch. The changeup will be an important part of his development, like it is for just about every young pitcher who throws hard.
Franco is also a bright presence in the clubhouse.
“He lights up the room with a smile,” Petty said. “He’s genuinely one of my best friends in the game. He’s from Venezuela and I’m from New Jersey. More than anything, he’s just an absolute competitor. He fights his (tail) off. He’s a dog. He has a great future ahead of him.”
LEO BALCAZAR
I heard about Balcazar for the first time in March of 2023. While doing a Q&A with Nick Krall, he spoke about the infield talent that the organization had in Low-A: Cam Collier, Sal Stewart and Balcazar. Krall described Balcazar as a prospect who had the potential to be a legitimate big leaguer.
Unfortunately, one month later, Balcazar suffered a season-ending injury and tore his ACL.
He played in 102 games in 2024, but Balcazar didn’t feel like himself.
“It takes a lot of time,” Balcazar said. “It’s a hard surgery. I put in a lot of hard work. Last year (in 2025), I started feeling really good without pain. In Dayton (in 2024), I felt pain and was getting back to feeling 100%.”
After playing in High-A Dayton, the organization had him repeat that level in 2025. While the stats didn’t pop (.262 average, .333 on-base), there was talk about him being the best guy on that team. Following 75 games in High-A last year, he got the call up to Double-A. At the end of the season, the Reds added Balcazar to the 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.
“I try to play the game the right way and do hard work,” Balcazar said. “I think I’m a really good hitter because I make a lot of contact and hit line drives in the gaps. This year, I’m focused on hitting for extra bases. If I hit it right, I’ll have some homers too.”
Balcazar, 21 years old, plays shortstop, second base and third base. He doesn’t have raw traits that pop, but he has the potential be the type of player who does a lot of things well.
Two more important facts about Balcazar. He wears a necklace with an owl logo on it because it looks cool. Also, his name in the media guide used to be Leonardo. A few years ago, he made the switch to Leo. “I just like Leo. Everyone in my family calls me Leo. Leonardo is my dad.”
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