“For me it’s always been about holding myself to the same standard no matter where I’ve been.”

Colorado Rockies top ranked prospect (No. 29 via MLB) Charlie Condon burst onto the scene in 2024 as a must-see addition to this stacked Rockies farm system. 

I remember it clearly, media members gathered in the Coors Field press box on an early August afternoon. Myself, Kevin Henry (Just Baseball), Thomas Harding (MLB.com), and Noah Spirek (Blake Street Banter) huddled around a small computer where we had somehow tracked down the broadcast feed of the Rockies High-A Affiliate, the Spokane Indians. 

The Indians were playing a game on the road in Tri-Cities, which was hosting the MiLB debut of Rockies top draft pick Charlie Condon. 

The actual Rockies game happening outside the wall-sized window in the press box was ignorable in comparison to the at-bat that was about to take place in the dry desert of eastern Washington. 

Condon stepped up and on his first swing hit a towering shot out to left field. Off the bat it looked as if the ball was going to go about 500 feet. 

We all jumped up, breaking the rules of the press box that prohibit media from reacting, assuming the ball was in fact headed to the empty field beyond the stadium walls. 

Unfortunately for Condon, he fell victim to the abhorrently deep fences at GESA stadium as his ball traveled about 500-feet straight towards the sky and came down just short of the wall (Yankees broadcaster John Sterling most certainly would have called it a home run though). 

We all laughed, realizing we had been juked out by the effortless power in Condon’s swing, and went back to watching our game in Denver. 

But, the point had been made. Charlie Condon had arrived, and with him came the hype and hopes of a future Rockies baseball team filled with more wins than losses.

Hype aside, the rest of the 2024 season was filled with more frustrations for Condon than he anticipated. His first summer making the leap from college to pro-ball was jarring. 

“Professional baseball is a big step up from college baseball so learning the ins and outs of that and making the adjustments that needed to be made is something that I’m focused on this offseason” he said in an interview with me earlier during the season. 

He’s not wrong. The leap from college to pro’s is definitely jarring. Remember, baseball is a sport where you don’t get days off. And I’m not just saying it hypothetically either. Ask any player who is playing or has played at that level. It’s either a game day or a travel day all season long. 

But when you have the hopes and expectations of a franchise resting partially on your shoulders, it can be hard to avoid feeling the weight of those expectations bearing down. 

“Coming through Georgia I didn’t have a lot of expectations, but I still held myself to a high standard to be the best baseball player I could. So, as things progressed and I started to have more expectations around me, I tried to keep the same mentality– that I’m always going to expect the most out of myself more than anyone expects out of me.” 

Across 25 games and 100 at-bats with Spokane, Condon hit .180 with only one home run. A far cry from where he knows he can be at his best. But not all of it had to do with early season jitters, according to Rockies General Manager Bill Schmidt. 

“Charlie was dealing with a bit of a thumb injury there at the end of last year. He tried to play through it and I think it ended up affecting him. Part of his learning is knowing when to tell us that so we can give him rest” said Schmidt. 

While we appreciate Condon’s work ethic and dedication to the game, learning experience number one seemed to come in the form of how he manages injuries. Something that all professional athletes have to endure at one point or another. 

But injuries be damned, Condon approached the end of his season with a willingness to grow and adjust heading into 2025. 

“[This season] was not great but I believe there’s a lot to be learned from failure and I think that a big part of this game is being able to take the positives out of things that didn’t go so well and move on from there.”

Bill Schmidt didn’t specify where Condon would start the 2025 season in the Rockies farm system but he did clarify that “wherever he starts is hopefully not where he ends”. 

Condon doesn’t seem to care too much about where he starts either. 

“I’m going to continue to keep my eyes on what’s in front of me and take it one game at a time, whatever level I’m at.”

Putting Condon in a place where he can succeed is, in my opinion, the best option for the Rockies this year. Especially after a bumpy start to his career, giving him a chance to thrive and build confidence is crucial before he can take that next step. 

Charlie knows the kind of player he is and can be. After speaking with him multiple times, there’s no doubt in my mind about that. It’s all about giving him an environment where he can be reminded of that so he can begin building his confidence into the future Rockies player we need him to be. 

With Spring Training just weeks away (yes, weeks), Condon is ramping up his preparations to take a sizable step forward in 2025. 

“It’s all about routine. Having a routine that can allow you to fix your errors, whether it be mechanical or approach, having a routine that you can fall back on every day is the biggest thing” he said when speaking about his offseason adjustments. 

Let’s be honest here. Rockies fans want to see Charlie’s home runs flying through the thin air at Coors Field as soon as possible. Heck, I’ll even go as far as to say we need to see his home runs flying at Coors Field here soon. But when you see a partial season marred by offensive struggles, it’s easy to start drawing questions and concerns. 

Charlie however, doesn’t view the early stages of his career as simply “good days and bad days”. He says it’s more about playing the long game. 

“It’s important to look at everything as a whole. To not just be blindsided by one good day. And I think that can be said for good days and bad days too. To not let that be a full representation of things.”

In the case of the rising star that is Charlie Condon, there will certainly be good days and bad days. But the sum of it all is hopefully reflective of the growth this young player can achieve beginning in 2025. A young player eager to make his mark on this Rockies franchise.

We’re rooting for you Charlie. Hope to see you in a Rockies uniform soon.