The Colorado Rockies may be headed for another last-place finish in the National League West, but anyone who knows anything about baseball knows their fortunes are about to change. The franchise's farm system is chock-full of future impact players at the big-league level. It won't be long before a potent young lineup is sending baseballs on a Rocky Mountain High into the Denver night.

One such promising bat belongs to Triple-A infielder Charlie Condon, considered the team's number-two prospect behind shortstop Ethan Holliday. However, with the second-generation star out of action for the remainder of the year, Condon has stepped to the forefront as the Rockies' most talked-about hopeful.

Condon, 23, is a former Georgia Bulldog who scouts considered undersized when his prep career was over. Few schools besides UGA gave him a chance, thinking he was too skinny to develop any pop in his bat and that he was essentially a 6'6" beanpole. After gaining almost 40 pounds in the handful of years of his adult development, he was pulverizing pitches at the plate. He ended up becoming the 3rd overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. He's displayed the same ability to drive the ball at every level of the minors.

Playing this season for the Albuquerque Isotopes, Condon has hit .274, with 22 home runs, 74 RBI, and a .913 OPS. He's gone from a long shot to the leader of the Rockies' youth movement while Holiday recuperates. So why has the sweet-swinging hitter yet to step on the grass of Coors Field?

The Timeline for Condon

Part of the slower process has been due to a difference in philosophies when Paul DePodesta came aboard as Colorado's president of baseball operations. The organization is taking a more deliberate approach to developing its young players. He wants to ensure that Condon can step into success.

During his baseball career in college and the pros, Condon has experienced injuries, along with swing-and-miss concerns and the aforementioned questions about his size and strength. There were questions about handling breaking stuff. And Colorado has been working with him on his defensive versatility and his offensive approach.

“He knows, because we shared it with him in Spring Training, that when we bring him, it’s going to be with the idea that he’s really ready — his foundation is solid," Depoddesta has said regarding Condon's call-up. "(but) his foundation is solid."

So, it's looking more and more like the Rockies may take the same approach that other teams have taken with top prospects. Rather than injecting them into meaningless games in September, just to give them an audition, there's a chance that Condon won't break into the Bigs until Opening Day 2027. But when will he get there? He will have all the skills and training necessary to have a bountiful career in Colorado.