Tim Collins (baseball)

Timothy Michael Collins (born August 21, 1989) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Colorado Rockies organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Washington Nationals, and Chicago Cubs.

Tim Collins
Collins with the Kansas City Royals
Colorado Rockies – No. 63
Pitcher
Born: (1989-08-21) August 21, 1989
Worcester, Massachusetts
Bats: Left Throws: Left
MLB debut
March 31, 2011, for the Kansas City Royals
MLB statistics
(through 2019 season)
Win–loss record12–17
Earned run average3.60
Strikeouts245
Teams

Amateur career

Collins attended high school at Worcester Technical High School in Worcester, Massachusetts which compiled a record of 91–5 during his four years there.[1] Collins was overlooked by baseball scouts because of his size, standing at only 5'7".[1] His senior year, Collins threw a no-hitter against Auburn High School in the district championship game.[2]

Professional career

Toronto Blue Jays
Collins pitching for the Lansing Lugnuts in 2008

Toronto Blue Jays' general manager J. P. Ricciardi discovered Collins after he was pitching in an American Legion Baseball game.[3] After going undrafted, Collins signed with the Blue Jays out of high school as an undrafted free agent and began his professional career in 2007 with the Gulf Coast League Blue Jays of the Gulf Coast League Northern Division. In 7 games, Collins was involved in no decisions and had an ERA of 4.50. The next season, Collins was promoted to the Class-A Lansing Lugnuts of the Midwest League. That season, Collins went 4–2 with a 1.58 ERA, 98 strikeouts, and 14 saves in 49 games, all in relief. He was fifth in the league in ERA that season.[4] His 14 saves ranked him third in the entire Blue Jays organization in that category.[5] In 2009, Collins began the season with the Class-A Advanced Dunedin Blue Jays of the Florida State League. In 40 games with Dunedin, he went 7–4 with a 2.37 ERA, 99 strikeouts, and 3 saves. He was named to the Florida State League All-Star team that season.[6] Collins was later promoted to the Double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats of the Eastern League. Collins compiled a record of 2–3 with a 5.68 ERA, and 17 strikeouts in 9 games with New Hampshire. On the season, Collins had a combined record of 9–7 with a 2.91 ERA in 77​1⁄3 innings pitched. Collins was rated as having the best curveball in the Blue Jays organization by Baseball America in 2010.[7] Collins was selected as the Toronto Blue Jays organization's Postseason Player of the Year by MLB.com.[8]

Atlanta Braves

On July 14, 2010, Collins was traded to the Atlanta Braves with Tyler Pastornicky and Alex González for shortstop, Yunel Escobar and pitcher, Jo-Jo Reyes.[9]

Kansas City Royals

On July 31, 2010, Collins was traded along with Jesse Chavez and Gregor Blanco for Rick Ankiel and Kyle Farnsworth.[10]

On March 31, 2011, Collins made his MLB debut against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, pitching one inning. He did not allow a run and struck out Torii Hunter for his first MLB strikeout. Three days later, he earned his first MLB victory by pitching three scoreless innings against the Angels in extra innings, striking out five. On August 14, 2012 he set the Royals single season strikeout record for a left handed reliever. Collins finished the 2012 season with 93 strikeouts, second place among all Major League left-handed relievers behind the Reds Aroldis Chapman.[11] Overall in 2012 Collins pitched ​69 2⁄3 innings with an ERA of 3.36 and a record of 5-4.[11] On March 11, 2015, Collins underwent Tommy John surgery and was ruled out for the entire 2015 season.[12][13] An MRI taken in March 2016 showed that the ligament graft performed during the operation was not successful, and another Tommy John surgery had to be performed.[14]

Washington Nationals

On December 13, 2016, Collins signed a minor league deal with the Washington Nationals.[15] Collins elected free agency on November 6, 2017, becoming a free agent on November 18.[16]. On December 15, 2017, Collins resigned a minor league deal with the Nationals.[17] The Nationals purchased his contract on May 21, 2018. He made his Nationals debut and first major-league appearance since 2014 on May 21, 2018, entering a game against the San Diego Padres at Nationals Park in the eighth inning and getting two strikeouts, giving up one hit but no runs.[18][19]

Minnesota Twins

On February 6, 2019, Collins signed a minor league deal with the Minnesota Twins that included an invitation to spring training.[20] He was released on March 22, 2019.[21]

Chicago Cubs

On March 24, 2019, Collins signed a major league contract with the Chicago Cubs.[22] Collins was designated for assignment by the Cubs on June 19, following the promotion of Adbert Alzolay. On July 23, the Cubs selected Collins' contract. Collins was designated again on July 26 following the acquisition of Derek Holland. He elected free agency on August 1.

Cincinnati Reds

On August 4, 2019, Collins signed a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Reds. He became a free agent following the 2019 season.[23]

Colorado Rockies

On February 5, 2020, Collins signed a minor league deal with the Colorado Rockies. On July 27, Collins announced he was opting out of the season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pitching style

Despite his small size, Collins garners good speed on his four-seam fastball (averaging 93–94 mph, tops out at 97 mph). He also features two effective off-speed pitches, a curveball at 74–77 mph and a changeup at 83–85 mph. The curve is his most common pitch when ahead in the count, and is a frequent offering with 2 strikes. His changeup is typically used earlier in the count and is mostly thrown to right-handed hitters. All three pitches have above-average whiff rates (including 51% for the changeup),[24] leading to a high strikeout rate.

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References
  1. Will Hill (August 19, 2009). "Hill: Jays prospect Collins a surprising strikeout machine". TSN. tsn.ca. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  2. Paul Jarvey (June 11, 2007). "Standing tall: Division 2 no-hitter". Worcester Telegram. telegram.com. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  3. Paul White (May 8, 2009). "Down on the farm: Small Collins looking big in high-A". USA Today. usatoday.com. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  4. "2008 Midwest League Pitching Leaders". Baseball-Reference. baseball-reference.com. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  5. "Tim Collins Stats & Bio". Minor League Baseball. web.minorleaguebaseball.com. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  6. "Jays Have Six Players Named to FSL All-Star Team". OurSports Central. oursportscentral.com. June 4, 2009. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  7. Nathan Rode (December 15, 2009). "Toronto Blue Jays Top Ten Prospects". Baseball-America. baseballamerica.com. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  8. Lisa Winston (November 24, 2009). "Jays look abroad for top prospects". Major League Baseball. toronto.bluejays.mlb.com. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  9. "Braves get Gonzalez; Escobar to Jays". ESPN.com. Associated Press. July 15, 2010. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  10. Kaegal, Dick (July 31, 2010). "Royals deal Farnsworth, Ankiel for three". MLB.com. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  11. Drellich, Evan (December 28, 2012). "Collins looks to continue progress in bullpen". MLB.com. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
  12. "Tim Collins has Tommy John surgery". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 11, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  13. Flanagan, Jeffrey (March 11, 2015). "After second opinion, Collins has Tommy John surgery". MLB.com. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  14. Flanagan, Jeffrey (March 24, 2016). "Lefty Collins to undergo 2nd Tommy John surgery". MLB.com. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  15. Collier, Jamal (December 13, 2016). "Burriss among 4 to get spring invite from Nats". MLB.com. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  16. Todd, Jeff (November 18, 2016). "Royals Designate Tony Cruz; Tim Collins Elects Free Agency". MLB Trade Rumors. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  17. Todd, Jeff (December 15, 2017). "Minor MLB Transactions: 12/15/17". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  18. "Nationals' Tim Collins: Summoned to majors". cbssports.com. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  19. "Padres vs. Nationals - Play-By-Play". espn.com. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  20. Adams, Steve (February 6, 2019). "Twins Sign Tim Collins, Justin Nicolino To Minor League Deals". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  21. Todd, Jeff (March 22, 2019). "Twins Release Tim Collins, Adam Rosales". mlbtraderumors.com. Retrieved March 22, 2019.
  22. https://www.telegram.com/news/20190325/worcesters-tim-collins-signed-by-chicago-cubs
  23. Matt Eddy (November 7, 2019). "Minor League Free Agents 2019". Baseball America. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  24. "Brooks Baseball · Home of the PitchFX Tool – Player Card: Tim Collins". Brooks Baseball. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
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