Reds top prospect set to miss significant time after surprise injury revealed

The Cincinnati Reds reassigned a number of young prospects to minor-league camp ahead of the team's game against the Texas Rangers. And while Cam Collier was among the six prospects sent down to minor-league camp, he will not be participating in any on-field activities any time soon.

During the Reds-Rangers radio broadcast, play-by-play announcer Jim Day mentioned that Collier suffered a thumb injury during a tag play recently and will miss some significant time going forward. Day said the initial reports were "not good" and relayed that Collier will see a specialist in the near future.

Reds top prospect Cam Collier set to miss significant time after surprise injury revealed

This is not the news you want to hear coming out of Reds camp. While Collier was not expected to be part of the Reds Opening Day roster, he'll be missing some much needed opportunities for continued development in what will be his third full season with the organization.

Collier was one of several Reds prospects who received a non-roster invite to spring training this year. Collier got into eight Cactus League games this year, hitting just .125/.364/.250 with a double and an RBI in 11 plate appearances. Collier was the Reds' first-round draft pick in 2022 and is consistently viewed as a top-100 prospect in all of baseball.

The 20-year-old was (and maybe still is) likely to debut at Double-A Chattanooga this season. Along with his running mate, Sal Stewart, Collier is expected to make a giant leap in 2025 after making his presence felt during the MLB Futures Game last season. Collier took home MVP honors during that contest and mashed 20 homers during his 2024 campaign with the Dayton Dragons.

It was Stewart who missed a significant chunk of time last season due to injury, but 2025 looks to be starting off rather poorly for Collier. There were some conditioning issues attached to the former first-rounder ahead of this year's spring training, but Collier seems to have put those concerns to bed. Collier spoke earlier this spring about improving his work habits with an increased focus on nutrition.

But this latest injury is definitely a setback for the young prospect. The hope, of course, is that Collier will be able to return to the diamond sometime later this season. Hand injuries can be tricky for hitters. Reds fans saw that first-hand last year with Christian Encarnacion-Strand. After being struck on the hand by a pitch, the Reds slugger missed all but 29 games in 2024. Let's hope the same fate does not await Collier in 2025.

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