Zack Collins
Zachary Allen Collins is an American professional baseball catcher for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball.Career
Collins attended American Heritage High School in Plantation, Florida, along with high school and college teammate Brandon Lopez. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 27th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft but did not sign; instead, he attended the University of Miami, where he played college baseball for the Miami Hurricanes.
As a freshman at Miami in 2014, Collins played in 61 games and hit.298/.427/.556 with 11 home runs and 54 runs batted in. He was named the ACC Freshman of the Year and was Baseball America's Freshman of the Year. As a sophomore in 2015 he played in 66 games, hitting.302/.445/.587 with 15 home runs and 70 RBIs. After the 2015 season, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod Baseball League. In his junior year, Collins batted.363 with 16 home runs and 59 RBIs, and his 78 walks were the most in college baseball. He won the Johnny Bench Award.
Collins was drafted 10th overall in the 2016 Major League Baseball draft by the Chicago White Sox. After signing, he made his professional debut with the AZL White Sox and was promoted to the Winston-Salem Dash after three games. He was named a Carolina League All-Star with the Dash. Collins ended 2016 with a combined.244 batting average with six home runs and 18 RBIs in 39 games between both teams. After the season, the White Sox assigned Collins to the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League. He spent 2017 with both Winston-Salem and the Birmingham Barons, posting a combined.224 batting average with 19 home runs and 53 RBIs in 113 games in total between the two clubs.
Collins spent the 2018 season back with Birmingham where he was named to the Southern League All-Star Game, winning the Southern League Home Run Derby. He finished the year batting.234 with 15 home runs and 68 RBIs in 122 games.
He began 2019 with the Charlotte Knights. On June 18, his contract was purchased and he was called up to the major leagues for the first time. Collins debuted as pinch hitter against the Cubs where he drew a walk in his only appearance that game. His first major league hit was a three-run home run versus the Texas Rangers on June 21, 2019.
