2024 MLB Draft Profile: Corey Collins
Draft Profile: Corey Collins (Georgia)
Height: 6'3
Weight: 220
Bats/Throws: Left/Right
Corey Collins, coming off a monstrous senior season at Georgia, is poised to be one of, if not the first, senior player off the board in the 2024 MLB Draft.
Collins was an intriguing prospect out of high school as a catcher who had a good freshman year at Georgia but did not quite put it all together in his subsequent years at UGA until this season.
The first thing to denote Corey’s impressive season is that he led all qualified Division One batters with a .574 on-base percentage. While part of this is due to hitting in front of Charlie Condon, it certainly is an impressive feat and a testament to the work Corey put in to improve and harness his game this year. He posted a 121 SD+ on his swing decision metrics according to 643, including being above average against every single major pitch type (this includes 116 on fastballs, 105 on sliders, 127 on changeups, and 169 on Curveballs). He also posted a 3 MPH progression to having a 69 MPH average bat speed this season on his swings relative to his first three seasons at Georgia. Lastly, he posted an astounding 1.75 BB/K ratio (yes, BB/K, not K/BB). Corey’s impressive rise in plate discipline cannot be ignored, even if he was hitting in front of newly crowned Golden Spikes winner Charlie Condon.
Corey’s immediate attraction beyond his plate discipline is his in-game plus pull-side power. He demonstrated improved lower-half movement and hand speed this year, which allowed him to turn on pitches in the upper half and over the heart of the plate with frequent success.
Collins posted great contact quality and production against fastballs, especially against RHP, in which he posted a .940 SLG% to pair with a .630 xwOBA. His contact metrics were also good, with a 45% hard-hit rate, 49% sweetspot rate, and a 32% barrel rate.
He also demonstrated the ability to hit higher velocity levels ≥ 93 MPH, posting a 97% in-zone contact rate, along with a 45% hard-hit rate (90th percentile in all of college baseball among pitches ≥ 93 MPH).
Collins can hit breaking balls well, posting averages over .320 against either the slider or curveball with hard-hit rates exceeding over 55% on either pitch. He is also able to lift them and get them into the air a good amount, which is an evolution from Collins’s past work at UGA.
Drawbacks
Arm-side deviations can generate a lot of swing-and-miss on Collins, particularly the cutter (41% whiff rate), which he did not produce against this year.
In addition, Collins’ profile is a bat-first profile. He isn’t getting drafted for his speed, defense, or positional value (1B), and he is a senior. All of those things go against Collins when it comes to being selected relatively early in the draft due to him being a late bloomer.
Conclusion
Collins had a fantastic senior season at Georgia and should be aptly rewarded as such with a moderately high draft pick. Collins shows exceptional plate discipline and swing-decision progressions in 2024, and that should not be ignored when evaluating him as a prospect, in addition to his plus pull-side power.
Collins is a day two pick, likely somewhere in the 6th-7th round (6th round grade for me), and has a great chance to be the first senior player off the board in the 2024 MLB Draft.
