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.

“He’s the kind of guy who has the chance to change the face of the organization,” Danny Montgomery, assistant GM of scouting, said. “(With his) power and the ability to do things defensively, and a little bit of versatility, we were all extremely happy.

“We would have been happy with any of the other four guys we had (targeted), but this guy is really special.”

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.

“It’s been a lot of hard work by myself and hard work by the people around me,” Condon told MLB Network Sunday night. “The thing that I have learned along the way is to trust your own process and be comfortable in your own skin.”

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.

There were other power hitters available with the third overall pick, including Florida first baseman Jac Caglianone, who was drafted by Kansas City with the sixth pick, and Wake Forest first baseman Nick Kurtz, who was picked by Oakland at No. 4. The Rockies were tempted to take both players, but Condon’s polished skills, power, versatility and personality won them over.

“There were some very, very good hitters at the top of this draft,” said Marc Gustafson, Colorado’s senior director of scouting operations. “We broke down all of the attributes they had, so it was tough. It was almost like 1A and 1B, and we went back and forth and debated it.

“But at the end of the day, our history, our scouts’ eyes, the multiple looks we had from a lot of different personnel, we just felt like Charlie Condon was the pick for the Rockies.”

Added Montgomery: “With Caglianone, this was a tough call. This went all the way up until an hour before the draft, and I’m telling you the truth. We banged this back and forth and had private meetings with (GM) Billy (Schmidt).

“In the end, somebody has to finish second and we just felt like (Condon) was our guy.”

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.

In the competitive balance portion of the draft, Colorado selected Brody Brecht, a right-handed pitcher from Iowa, with the 38th overall pick. With the 42nd pick, it took Texas outfielder Jared Thomas.

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.

“I’ve told everybody and told you guys a lot that it’s underrated how good of an athlete he is,” Georgia coach Wes Johnson told reporters recently. “You look at it now, he’s played first, he’s played third, he’s played all three outfield spots now at a high level.”

Condon told MLB Network: “What I want to do is continue to develop my defensive versatility.”

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.

Brecht, at 6-foot-4, can throw a 100 mph fastball and has a biting slider. He struck out 128 batters in 78 1/3 innings but also walked 49. A two-sport athlete for the Hawkeyes, Brecht caught nine passes as a redshirt freshman wide receiver in 2022 before giving up football.

Thomas, from Waxahachie, Texas, is a left-handed batter. He hit .336 with 76 RBIs during his two years at Texas. In 2023, he was the Longhorns’ leadoff hitter and mashed 16 homers and was 18 for 18 on stolen base attempts. His .349 batting average led Texas and ranked eighth in the Big 12.

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Originally Published: July 14, 2024 at 6:10 p.m.