COOP SCOOP

Collins’ fire and drive fuels desire to succeed

Youngster started year with Tigers

Tyler Collins has displayed major-league tools by belting nine home runs and 33 RBIs for the Mud Hens this season along with showing some defensive acumen from his left field position.

Baseball scouts today often search for players with specific “tools” such as power, speed, or a strong arm.

The Mud Hens’ Tyler Collins has used another tool to come within a step of the major leagues.

“My game is hustle,” he said. “I’m going to give 100 percent, whether it’s at the plate, in the field or on the bases.

“And I mean 100 percent effort, 100 percent focus. I’m going to give it everything I’ve got.”

AT THE PLATE: Tyler Collins

That isn’t the only tool that has helped the 24-year-old rocket through the Tigers organization. He has shown the ability to hit, throw, and run, catching the eyes of the Tigers this spring.

That’s the reason Detroit placed the Texas native on its opening day roster in just his third season of professional ball. Collins said his focus on spring training was not on trying to earn a spot on the Tigers roster.

“Spring training is about getting ready for the season, whether it’s in Detroit or Triple-A or Double-A,” Collins said. “I approached it as just getting ready, and let everything else take care of itself.”

Collins used a strong spring to make the Detroit roster.

He played in just seven games for the Tigers before he was sent to the Mud Hens in mid-April.

Toledo manager Larry Parrish has watched Collins hit .244 in 54 games with the Hens this season, his first in Triple-A. While the 24-year-old outfielder already has belted nine home runs and has 33 RBIs, Parrish thinks there is more in the tank for the young left-handed hitter.

“I look at him as a kid who is untapped,” Parrish said. “His swing mechanics are good, and when he hits a ball, it stays hit.

“But he’s still going through the learning curve.”

Parrish said the biggest thing that Collins has to control is the drive that has pushed him to the brink of the big leagues.

“His ‘want-to’ can be a plus or a minus,” Parrish said. “Sometimes he wants to do too much, trying to hit the ball into the river instead of just out of the ballpark. …

“He’s gone through a few batting helmets. He’s broken some bats in games, and he’s broken some in the dugout.”

Do not misunderstand: Parrish likes the drive of the Texas native.

“There’s a fire there, and it’s a lot easier to pour some water on a fire than it is to start that fire,” Parrish said. “To me, the worst thing is to not be able to light someone’s fire.

“Right now we’re working with him on toning down that fire and channeling it in the right direction.”

Recently Collins has shown off his skills in a variety of different ways. One example was his game-winning home run to beat Buffalo Sunday, but another came a day earlier in a lopsided loss to the Bisons.

With a runner on first base and none out, a Buffalo hitter lined a ball down the left-field line. Collins was able to cut the ball off, spin and throw to third in time to easily nail the baserunner trying to take two bases.

“I knew he was going to try and go from first to third, but I got a good jump on the ball and cut it off,” Collins said. “That ‘spin’ move is something we work on in spring training, so it’s almost second nature to make sure I come up and make a good, strong throw.”

That’s one of the reasons Collins is comfortable that his value to a team is larger than any statistics he can generate.

“You can eat yourself alive worrying about your numbers, because they’re never going to be good enough,” he said.

“My goal is to win. If we’re winning, everything else will fall into place.”

Contact John Wagner at: jwagner@theblade.com, 419-724-6481 or on Twitter @jwagnerblade.