More on Christian Colon

So I’ve had some time to look a little bit more at Christian Colon, the fourth overall pick in last night’s first round, and I’m still not sure where I stand on his potential. I know I should take a side, but Colon is such a bland pick, I can’t quite motivate myself to applaud or condemn the Royals for selecting him.

From the scouting reports that I’ve read, the consensus is that Colon can make the majors quickly, will be adequate with the bat, and has the intangibles on his side. But there are concerns that he won’t develop any power at all, that his speed will force him to move to second base, that he’s at best Placido Polanco.

I watched the Cal State Fullerton/Minnesota game last night, Colon’s first since being drafted earlier that evening. Sure, it’s just one game, but he did seem to be the kind of catalyst that does just what’s asked of him at the top of the lineup and does the little things to help his team win. In the first inning, he was hit by the first pitch of the game. After a balk moved him to second base, he advanced to third on a grounder to second and scored on single by the next batter.

He struck out in his next at bat, which is actually quite rare for him, as he’s only struck out 65 times in his three years at CSFU, covering more than 725 at bats. He singled with the bases loaded to drive in two his next time up, drilled a double into the gap in his next at bat, then stretched a single into a double in his final at bat. His final line: 3-4, 3 R, 3 RBI, 2 doubles. Not bad.

It appears, for now, that the Royals intend to keep him at shortstop until he shows he can’t cut it there.

"He’s a shortstop. He has been his whole life. Obviously, he’s like most shortstops and spent some time at second base, but we selected him because he’s a shortstop and, in our opinion, the best in the country — J.J. Piccolo, Royals assistant GM"

And while Colon isn’t much of a sexy pick, and his upside may be lower than other picks available at his spot, but as Sam Mellinger points out, picking Colon indicates the Royals think they’re close to putting all their prospects together in the next couple years. They’re fine-tuning their minor league rosters to fit how they expect future rosters to come together.

Maybe Colon isn’t a homerun pick. The Royals were in a tough spot, with all sorts of options, but no standout selection like the top three overall picks. Provided Colon signs early (which isn’t guaranteed but it’s possible), he’ll probably start at Low-A Wilmington for the remainder of the year, making his way to Double A Northwest Arkansas next season, and knocking on the doors of Omaha and Kansas City thereafter. That times out with some of the expected arrivals of the prospects and the team-control years for Billy Butler, Alex Gordon and Alberto Callaspo. Hopefully, there’s something to this process and Colon’s one of the keys to its success.

Colon scouting links (for your own perusal):

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