The Rockies said they would pick the best player available in the Major League Baseball draft with the third overall pick.
As it turned out, they just might have landed the very best player in the draft when they selected Charlie Condon, a third baseman/outfielder out of Georgia.
Condon, 21, began his baseball journey as a tall, skinny kid from Marietta, Georgia, who began his college career as a walk-on and became the highest-drafted baseball player in Bulldogs history.
With the first overall pick, Cleveland took Travis Bazzana, a second baseman from Oregon State. In something of a surprise move, Cincinnati picked Chase Burns, a right-handed pitcher from Wake Forest, with the No. 2 pick. A lot of draft analysts predicted that Colorado would draft Burns.
Condon dominated college baseball in 2024. He swept the sports’ top awards, including the Dick Howser Trophy as the best collegiate player in the nation and the Golden Spikes Award for the best amateur player at all levels.
He hit 37 home runs, the most by a collegiate player in the last quarter-century and also posted the highest OPS (1.565) in the talent-rich Southeast Conference. He batted .433, walked 57 times and struck out 41.
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Condon has raw power, with an exit velocity consistently topping 100 mph. With his lanky 6-foot-6-inch frame, he’s drawn comparisons to current Rockies first baseman Kris Bryant, who won a National League MVP with the Cubs in 2016, and current Philadelphia All-Star Alec Bohm. Although Condon has the arm to play third base, he could end up as a corner outfielder.
Before Condon received a late walk-on offer to attend Georgia, he planned to play football and baseball at Division III Sewanee University in Tennessee. At the time, Condon was 6-foot-5 and weighed just 196 pounds. He now weighs 216 pounds.
Condon is the first position player the Rockies have selected in the first round since 2021 when the team took outfielder Benny Montgomery out of Redland High School (Pa.). The Rockies took right-hander Gabriel Hughes out of Gonzaga in 2022 and right-hander Chase Dollander out of Tennessee last season. Condon is the 13th position player all-time to be selected in the first round by the Rockies.
This story will be updated.
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