Where did Isaac Collins come from? What to know about the Brewers outfielder
Rookie outfielder Isaac Collins has become one of the best stories of 2025 for the Milwaukee Brewers, and after he won National League Rookie of the Month in July, it's become apparent that he's going to be a legitimate contender for Rookie of the Year.
Collins batted .321 in July with a .411 on-base percentage and .853 OPS in July, all while playing his typical brand of strong corner-outfield defense.
Where did Isaac Collins come from, anyway? Here's what to know about a player who's helped make the Brewers the best team in baseball through July 2025:
How did the Brewers get Isaac Collins?
The Brewers selected Collins from the Colorado Rockies in the minor-league phase of the Rule 5 draft before the 2023 season, securing his rights for $24,000.
Unlike the Major League portion of the Rule 5 draft — the mechanism by which the Brewers lost all-star pitcher Shane Smith to the White Sox before this season — the minor-league portion doesn't require a player to spend time on the big-league roster. Players eligible for that part of the draft aren't on a big-league 40-man roster nor the organization's 38-man Class AAA roster.
That's where the Brewers found Collins, then a second baseman in the Rockies organization. In the same draft class, future big leaguers like Dane Meyers (selected by Miami from Detroit), Joshua Palacios (selected by Pittsburgh from Washington) and Nick Burdi (selected by Chcaiago Cubs from San Diego) also got selected. It's also the same draft where the Philadelphia Phillies selected future Brewers infielder Oliver Dunn from the Yankees.
How did Isaac Collins do in the minors once he joined the Brewers?
Collins played 93 games at Class AA Biloxi in 2023, posting an .855 OPS before a cup of coffee with Class AAA Nashville. Then, he spent most of the 2024 season at Nashville, as well, posting an .861 OPS with a quality .386 on-base percentage and 14 homers. That surely got the attention of Brewers brass, and he made his big-league debut that season but only played in 11 games.
The Brewers put Collins in the outfield far more than the Rockies did, with occasional appearances at second base and third base. Collins played exclusively at second base in college during his college days at Creighton, but he showed he could stick at his new spot on the field.
In 2025, Collins got a chance to make the team out of camp with outfielder Blake Perkins sidelined by a shin fracture. He's quickly evolved into an elite defensive corner outfielder who also carries his weight at the plate, with six homers and a .378 on-base percentage coming into Aug. 4.
What are Isaac Collins' odds to win Rookie of the Year?
As of Aug. 4, BetMGM had Collins' odds of winning the National League Rookie of the Year award as third-best in the league, behind Madison native Drake Baldwin (an Atlanta Braves catcher) and Miami Marlins catcher Agustin Ramirez.
Teammate Jacob Misiorowski's injury designation Aug. 3 makes it unlikely that he'll stay in Rookie of the Year conversations; even if he returns and maintains his standing as one of the buzziest rookies in baseball, he'll have fewer than 80 innings of big-league work at best by season's end. Baldwin, meanwhile, has comparable stats to Collins in terms of offense and WAR.
Fox produced odds that didn't mention Collins but did mention three Brewers: Misiorowski, Chad Patrick and Caleb Durbin, with Baldwin still seen as the frontrunner. ESPN's tracker had Collins tied for second with Ramirez, both behind Baldwin.
Isaac Collins high school: Brewers rookie played football with a household name for Badgers basketball fans
A native of Maple Grove, Minnesota, Collins played high school sports alongside former University of Wisconsin guard Brad Davison, who was with the Badgers from 2017 through 2022 and was second-team All-Big Ten as a senior.
With Collins at running back, Davison played quarterback for the football team. Collins' father played football at West Virginia.
"I've known Brad since we were 9, 10 years old," Collins said on the Microbrew podcast earlier this year. "I played basketball growing up. He was in the class below me, but obviously he was so good that he played with the older kids. ... I personally think he was just as good a football player as he was a basketball player. He was a really, really good quarterback. I think he could have played a high-level Division I quarterback, as well. He's just a competitor."
Isaac Collins got his first big-league hit against his old organization
On Sept. 8, 2024, Collins made his Major League debut against the organization that drafted him, Colorado. Collins went 1-for-2 with his first big-league hit.
"It was picture-perfect, honestly," Collins said. "Couldn't have really drawn it up any better."
What is Isaac Collins' contract with the Brewers?
Collins is making a little more than $750,000 this season with the Brewers and won't hit salary arbitration until after the 2027 season. In other words, he's an absolute bargain for the Brewers, who paid next to nothing to acquire him.
(This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.)