‘Roll with it’: After tough pro debut, spring injury, Charlie Condon ‘ready to go’ with Spokane Indians

After he was selected No. 3 overall in last year’s MLB draft by the Colorado Rockies, Charlie Condon helped the Spokane Indians win the High-A Northwest League Championship .

Playing for a title-winning team was the highlight of his professional debut, however, his personal numbers weren’t up to his normally lofty status.

Condon hit just .180 with one homer in 25 games with Spokane last season after a record-setting year in college when he became only the third player in NCAA history to lead the nation in batting average (.433) and home runs (37) in the same season, while also leading the nation in slugging percentage (1.009).

The 22-year-old from Georgia was anxious to get the 2025 season underway. But sometimes the “baseball gods” have other plans.

Condon suffered a nondisplaced fracture of his left wrist on a check swing in his first spring training game this season, putting the 6-foot-6, 215-pound outfielder/corner infielder on the shelf for a couple of months.

Finally healthy, Condon got into eight games at the Rockies’ Arizona Complex League team last week before rejoining the Indians on Tuesday.

“I feel great. I feel back to 100%,” he said dodging rain drops before Thursday’s game at Avista Stadium. “(It) was unfortunate timing, but it could always be worse. I just spent some time back at the complex, getting that thing healthy, and then making up some spring training.”

Condon spent the winter gearing up for his first full season in pro ball, only to have it derailed right off the bat.

“That offseason gets long on you there at the end, and you’re ready to go, amped up, feeling locked in, ready to go,” Condon said. “And then something like that, that you can’t control, pops up, and you just kind of got to take it in stride and keep rolling with it.”

It’s the first time in his career that Condon had suffered an injury that held him out of games. Condon admitted it was “tough” being left behind in Arizona and watching his teammates break camp and start the season.

“I was really looking forward to getting out here with them,” he said. “But I knew that I needed to heal my wrist and take care of the things that I had on my plate, and I knew I’d get out here still with plenty of baseball to be played.”

As far as injuries go, missing the first few weeks of the season isn’t the worst outcome possible.

“There was a light at the end of the tunnel,” Condon said. “And I just kind of had to focus on getting healthy and know that the season was waiting for me whenever I was ready.”

Once he was ready and finally got into a game, he ended up the middle of everything.

In his first game Wednesday, a 6-3 win over Tri-City, Condon went 2 for 4 with a double, drawing a bases-loaded walk to bring in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning. He almost pulled off a tremendous leaping catch at the wall before the ball fell out of his glove on the way down, and he was even thrown out at the plate trying to score on a pitch to the backstop.

“That’s how baseball is, man. You jump out there and the ball’s gonna find you,” he said. “Happy to get back in on the action (Wednesday), and off to a strong start with a win. And so hopefully, we’ll kind of continue to roll like that as a group.”

After dealing with his first injury as a pro, it had to feel good just to be putting bat to ball again.

“Yeah, absolutely,” Condon said. “I feel comfortable in the box right now. I think our group is in a good space mentally right now – just as far as playing good baseball as a group. The bats are starting to come alive in some good spots, and some timely hitting has helped us, and helped us get that win (Wednesday).”

Condon hit second in the batting order during his return, a spot he felt comfortable in during his time at the University of Georgia. He played in left field, and he expects that’s where he’ll get most of his playing time with the Indians. But he will also play first and third base since the Rockies like their position players to have experience at multiple positions.

He thinks he and leadoff hitter Jared Thomas will be a potent combination at the top of the lineup.

“I like hitting behind old ‘JT,’ he’s a good buddy of mine,” Condon said. “It’s more fun hitting with guys on base. But that’s also a job of mine, for the 3-4-5 (hitters) coming up behind me. (I’m) a power guy. But also, you know, get on base and let them knock me in. It’s a team effort here.”

Condon likes putting his athleticism on display playing several different positions.

“It helps when you can bounce around. You don’t have to have one fit position where you’re moving up linearly through the organization,” he said. “You can kind of bounce around and be wherever they need you. That’s something that I try to pride myself in and keep that as a tool in my tool belt.”

There’s some pressure associated with being such a high draft pick, then having a tough pro debut followed by injury. But Condon is trying to take all of it in stride and keep an even keel. He doesn’t want to look too far into the future.

“I’m not trying to be somewhere I’m not right now,” Condon said. “I’m just focused on playing my best baseball I can with the Spokane Indians and just sticking to my approach, continuing to keep things tight with my swing, never coming out of my approach, and having the team at-bats and execute situational hitting and things like that, and just helping this group win.”

He also tries not to look back, other than to take away the positives from the 2024 season.

“It was really fun just jumping in with that group like that and winning the championship of this league the first time playing professional baseball,” he said. “I got to kind of taste the fruits of victory off the rip. … Personally, it didn’t go the way I wanted it to. I think pretty much everybody knows that. But it’s part of the game. It’s going to punch you in the mouth sometimes, and it’s about how you respond.”

Condon responded the way he knows best – with hard work.

“It was a lot of reps of just hitting in the cage, lifting, getting some things tightened back up with my swing,” he said. “I spent a lot of (the offseason) with my hitting guy and a lot of time with my strength guy and getting as ready as I can be for this season.”

Like everyone else in the system, Condon keeps an eye on the big club and the struggles the Rockies are experiencing at the big league level.

“Everybody’s working toward the same goal, which is winning a World Series with this organization,” he said. “You know, things have been slow up there sometime, and (has been) for a little bit. But there’s a lot of talent in this farm system. I think everybody in the farm system knows it. People outside of the organization might not know it, but they’re going to find out here before too long.”