Rockies prospect and former Spokane Indian Charlie Condon cashing in on persistence, patience
Charlie Condon is chasing stardom while trying to stay grounded. That’s no easy trick.
But the Colorado Rockies’ projected first baseman of the future, the third overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft, is starting to figure it out. Condon’s recent hot streak at Double-A Hartford, replete with power and solid infield play, finds him in a good place.
“You have to be where your feet are and do the work in front of you,” Condon said.
That’s not a cliché or a throwaway slogan for the 22-year-old. It’s a bedrock belief that he’s needed during his often-difficult first two seasons in professional baseball. It’s beginning to pay off. Condon entered the weekend hitting .262 with 10 home runs and an .886 OPS in 47 games for the Yard Goats in the always-tough Eastern League.
Since Aug. 1, Condon is slashing .297/.415/.624 with eight homers and 22 RBIs in 28 games. He ranks third in the Eastern League across that span in home runs, RBIs, slugging and OPS (1.039).
“His numbers have climbed as he’s executed his game plan,” Hartford manager Bobby Meacham said. “He has that workmanlike attitude of, ‘Next step, then next step, then next step.’ He’s really seeking the process.”
The Rockies have been waiting for a homegrown, power-hitting first baseman ever since Hall of Famer Todd Helton retired in 2013. The club hoped Michael Toglia, a first-round draft choice out of UCLA in 2019, would be that guy. But after surging last season — he slashed .232/.331/.470 with 21 home runs in his final 100 games — Toglia has regressed. He’s hitting .194 this season with a ghastly 38.3% strikeout rate. His highly touted glove has also fallen short of expectations. Toglia was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque twice, the second time in late July.
“Mike had some strikeouts, and we tried to be patient,” general manager Bill Schmidt said when Toglia was sent down to Triple-A the first time at the end of May. “We thought, coming off last season, he was going to take a step forward. Ultimately, he took a step backwards. So we have to do a little bit of a reset, send him back down to Albuquerque and hopefully make some adjustments and see where it goes.
“We want consistency. We want him to figure it out. I think there is a hitter in there.”
Toglia’s struggles flung the door wide open for Condon, but he still has to make the big step up to the majors. He played some first base during his sophomore season at Georgia, but mainly played third as a junior.
“I feel very comfortable at first,” the 6-foot-6, 220-pound Condon said. “It was just a matter of knocking off a little rust.”
Condon broke his right wrist in spring training and missed all of April, then worked his way through the Arizona Complex League and High-A Spokane before debuting with Hartford on July 2. Last summer at Spokane, he tried to play through a left-hand injury before shutting down late in the season, finishing with 35 games played. Condon slashed .180/.248/.270 with one home run and 34 strikeouts in 109 plate appearances.
Much more was expected from the University of Georgia sensation. He won the 2024 Golden Spikes Award as the top college baseball player in the country after hitting .433 in 60 games with 37 homers and 78 RBIs. He signed with the Rockies for a then-record $9.25 million bonus, with the hope he could rise quickly up the ranks.
Condon had his down days, for sure, but he’s gained perspective.
“The biggest challenge that every minor league player faces is dealing with failure,” Condon said Thursday in a phone interview from Hartford. “That is really the name of this game. Everybody has failures in baseball. Everybody goes through different stretches where failure is more prevalent in their game. The thing I’m learning is not to let a bad game turn into a bad week. Being able to turn the page is important.”
So is blocking out FOMO.
In today’s age of instant information, young players can’t help but compare their numbers to those of their contemporaries. Fear of missing out on the big leagues is only natural.
Condon is aware that Athletics rookie first baseman Nick Kurtz is slashing .308/.401/.636 with 28 home runs and is a heavy favorite to be named the American League’s rookie of the year. Kurtz was selected fourth in last year’s draft, one spot behind Condon.
“He isn’t falling into the trap of getting on the bus for those long trips, getting on his phone and scrolling through social media and seeing what people are saying about him or other players,” said Chris Forbes, the Rockies’ senior director of player development. “He’s stayed grounded. When he gets up here with us, we want him to stay.”
Added Meacham, “A lot of times, guys want to think about getting to the next spot. I was praying that he wouldn’t see that guy with the A’s (Kurtz), hitting all of those homers and think, ‘I’ve got to get there.’
“No. You have to stay with your process, be yourself, stay businesslike, and don’t fall for the shortcut.”
Through the ups and downs of his infant career, Condon says he’s come to understand that.
“Just because someone has what you want before you get it doesn’t mean that you aren’t going to get it,” he said.
Perseverance, the Rockies believe, is part of Condon’s DNA.
Georgia is a hotbed for youth baseball, but Condon was not considered a hot prospect while playing high school baseball at The Walker School in Marietta, Ga. He had to walk on to make the team at the University of Georgia. He red-shirted his first year, and then broke out in a big way the next spring in a debut season that saw him earn national freshman of the year honors from multiple publications.
“I’ve had to practice patience pretty much my whole career,” he said. “Even when I was in high school, I had buddies who were getting Division I offers and committing to SEC schools during their sophomore and junior years.
“I would think, ‘When is that coming around for me?’ So I think that trait has been instilled in me from a young age. I have just known for a while now that people operate on different timelines, and you’ve got to be OK with that.”
Condon is also learning about life balance. Not easy for a young athlete.
“There are days when you wake up and all you think about is baseball,” he said. “But you have to learn how to compartmentalize your life and find an identity in baseball and an identity away from baseball. It’s about being able to separate the two. That’s the biggest thing I have learned this season.”
Meacham, a first-round draft choice for the Cardinals in 1981 who understands the pressure of being a top prospect, is confident Condon will fulfill his potential. He’s told Condon to concentrate on being a hitter who drives the ball up the middle, telling him not to force home runs or worry about statistics.
“He has not been chasing power, which I think is really good,” Forbes said. “He wants to let it come and wants to have a high rate of contact. He’s got that finish to his swing, where, naturally, the balls are going to leave the yard.
“He is now focused on what he wants to do from a tactical standpoint as opposed to a technical standpoint. He’s seeing certain things and how teams are attacking him. Now, he’s thinking, ‘OK, this is my plan against their plan of attack.’ ”
Condon has tinkered with some mechanical adjustments, including squatting a bit lower in his stance.
“It’s hardly noticeable, but it’s helped,” he said. “I feel really good in the box right now, and it feels like my pitch recognition is good. I’m just executing better. I’m not missing mistake pitches nearly as much as I was early in the season. When I’m getting my pitch, I’m not missing it, and that’s a good feeling.”
Condon was an excellent student in high school and at Georgia. He’s a good listener and eager to learn, two big reasons why Meacham insists that the talent that made Condon the third overall pick will blossom in the big leagues.
“You can see it in his face when you talk to him,” Meacham said. “He’s just one of those guys who loves to soak up information, and then he wants to go use it in his game. He’s devouring information. I just think he’s different than a lot of guys who have been told their whole life how good they are and think they have it all figured out.”