SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- MLB Pipeline Top 100 prospect Charlie Condon (COL No. 2/MLB No. 70) checked important boxes for the Rockies even before Saturday, when he made his first career Major League Spring Training start.
Condon, 22, selected third overall in the 2024 MLB Draft after a career of record-setting power at the University of Georgia, played a combined 95 games at first base last year between his first full Minor League season and his time in the Arizona Fall League.
But the Rockies’ first-base picture is crowded with candidates, so the slugger is relying on his versatility to increase his chances of grabbing a roster spot in Denver in the near future.
Manager Warren Schaeffer started Condon on Saturday against the Diamondbacks in right field, which he has not played in a professional regular-season game. But Schaeffer could write that lineup spot confidently based on how Condon has prepared.
Rockies workouts the first weeks of camp included a “skill development hour,” in which players received much leeway to work on offensive, defensive and baserunning skills. While Condon spent much of his development time on first-base fundamentals, he was prepared when told of his assignment on Friday.
“I figured I wasn’t going to be playing only first base while I was here at camp,” said Condon, who also logged 11 games in left field and five at third base last season. “This offseason, I did some outfield work -- drop-step stuff -- just knowing that.
“I had a meeting on my player plan yesterday with some of the guys from the front office and the coaching staff, and they were telling me I’m going to play a lot at first base but that I was going to be moving around. So yesterday I got some reps reading balls off the bat, getting used to a little bit higher sky out here in Arizona.”
The professional approach is one reason the Rockies believe Condon’s ceiling is as high as that desert sky.
“I’ve seen him for about two weeks, and I like the way he goes about his business,” Schaeffer said. “He’s proficient in both corners in the outfield, and then possibly some third base. So he’s working on all that on the back fields, and he’s going to get a chance to play in those spots.”
Condon learned last year that simply playing at all is special.
In last year’s first game of Minor League camp against the Athletics -- while playing left field -- Condon sustained a fractured left wrist while attempting a diving catch. It was a tough blow, especially after a right hand injury late in the 2024 collegiate season led to a .180 batting average at High-A Spokane in his first 25 professional games. The new injury kept him off the field until May 5.
But with a brief injury rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League, stints at High-A Spokane and Hartford, and 22 games against top prospects in the Arizona Fall League, Condon made 531 plate appearances over 121 games.
“It showed me to never take health for granted,” Condon said. “I learned a lot -- had some success, and definitely feel way more prepared.”
Condon sizzled in his 35 games at Spokane (.312/.431/.420), had hot streaks and challenges over 55 games at Hartford (.235, 11 HR, 38 RBIs), and finished with a solid 22 games in the Fall League -- .337 with 13 RBIs and a tape-measure grand slam for his one home run.
“I knew early on that I was going to the Fall League after breaking my wrist, to make up for some of the at-bats that I missed,” Condon said. “There’s good talent in that league -- a fun league to play in, plus we had a good group of Rockies guys there.”
Condon also earned the Fall League’s Dernell Stenson Sportsmanship Award -- important to him because he is “trying to be a guy that people can lean on.”
Likely headed to Triple-A Albuquerque to begin the regular season, Condon is mixing patience with preparation.
“My whole thing is that my job is, no matter what, to play the best baseball wherever I am,” Condon said. “My goal is to show as well as I possibly can, and wherever they decide for me to go is what’s best for the organization. From there, I’ll continue to be my best self.”