The Adjustment That Is Changing Isaac Collins’ Season

A couple of months ago, I analyzed Isaac Collins’ terrible start in his first season with the Kansas City Royals. The problem was evident: as a hitter, Collins depends on his contact ability, his ability to get on base, and the instincts he developed stealing bases during his final season with the Milwaukee Brewers.

Contrary to that profile, the Collins we had seen through mid-June was having trouble putting the ball in play. His strikeouts increased by 4.7% compared to 2025, his slugging percentage dropped from .411 to .302, and his wRC+ (84) was below the league average. Collins is not a hitter who finds success hitting fly balls, so there was an obvious problem in his swing: his fly-ball rate jumped from 34.3% to 50.4%.

As he approached the third month of the season, it was time to make adjustments. The big question here was how Collins was going to solve his main inconsistency. Was it worth changing his plan as a hitter? What part of his approach at the plate needed an immediate adjustment? In the two months since the last time we analyzed him, Collins found answers.

For many hitters, it might seem reasonable to work on their plate discipline, be less aggressive and more selective, especially as a switch-hitter. Collins did the opposite: he turned aggression outside the zone into better contact. How did he do it? Let’s begin by looking at some revealing numbers:

Everything revolved around contact, but the key was not greater bat speed or a jump in power. Collins has given his season a positive turn since June 13 with greater aggression at the plate. His biggest increase in a metric was the 13.9% increase in O-Contact%, while he reduced his strikeout and Whiff rates.

The quality of contact was also key to improving his xSLG from .308 to .352, while maintaining the same .295 BABIP. Yes, this really is not what is expected from a hitter who went through struggles at the beginning of the season. However, the adjustment process itself is nothing new for Collins. In the sample since 2025, he appears among the hitters with the greatest ability to generate value against pitches outside the strike zone: his .514 xOBP ranks sixth among qualified hitters who have seen at least 250 pitches outside the zone.

In the Top 10, there are two aspects that perfectly reveal Collins’ profile: he is the hitter with the highest Whiff% rate and the only one with 0.0 Barrel/BBE%. And there is the real story of his adjustment. As a hitter, Collins has remained faithful to the approach that made him an interesting piece for an offense that has achieved the highest Z-Contact% (86.1) in all of Major League Baseball this season.

The big question that remains here is whether Collins can sustain this success by living off continued aggression and contact against pitches outside the strike zone. His xwOBA has not had an alarming drop (it went from .305 to .299 during the period of these last two months), while his Barrel% went from 7.5% to 4.0%. Since we already know that Collins’ philosophy is to live off contact, I investigated what the most notable differences have been within his recent offensive rebound. I focused more on his plate appearances against right-handed pitchers, since we have a larger sample there during the two periods we are analyzing.

Opening Day to June 12

June 13 To August 13

Collins shows better performance in the second period, accumulating a value of +3.8 over +2.4. His hitting profile was more balanced, especially outside the strike zone, where contact has made the difference since June 13.

Let’s look at some of those contacts against pitches up and outside the strike zone.

Date: 2026-06-10. Pitcher: Gray, Peyton. Count: 1 – 2. Pitch Type: CH. Velocity: 84.5.

URL: Isaac Collins doubles (8) on a line drive to left fielder Wyatt Langford. | Baseball Savant Videos | baseballsavant.com

Date: 2026-06-19. Pitcher: McGreevy, Michael. Count: 1 – 2. Pitch Type: FF. Velocity: 91.9.

URL: Isaac Collins' two-run double | Baseball Savant Videos | baseballsavant.com

Two pieces of hitting in the Collins style! This season, only 18 left-handed hitters have hit a double with a pitch located in that same area. Shohei Ohtani leads the league with four. Collins is in the group of 15 hitters who have two.

It is not so easy to get a piece of hitting like that. But for Collins, that is not the point that matters. He will go after pitches outside the strike zone. In these last two months, that has been his best adjustment, and he has gotten many more quality at-bats. We will see if his swing will continue to stay alive outside the zone. The Royals, despite having been in a terrible season, brought Collins in to continue being faithful to his style.

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