It's Time We Have a Conversation About Georgia's Home Run Sensation Charlie Condon, Who Has Gone From Walk-On To Possibly The Number One Pick In This Year's Draft
Icon Sportswire. Getty Images.Admittedly I'm not someone who keeps tabs with college baseball throughout the course of a full season. Just don't have the time and brain capacity to get that done. MLB, NBA, NFL, tennis, college basketball/college football already flood my mind on a daily basis. I can't fit anything else in there on a consistent basis, so right around now is when I tune and learn the big names leading up to the draft.
The American Ohtani, Jac Caglianone, is obviously the monster everyone knows about. Dude can do it all, as he hits mammoth home runs to go with his .400 batting average and pitching abilities.
Advertisement
But here comes Charlie Condon to crash the parade and create a real discussion of who should be the number one pick in July.
Entering today, this lunatic has 33 homers slashing .459/.568/1.105. Let me repeat that. He's SLUGGING 1.105!!! His OPS through 47 games is 1.673. Condon has also homered in SEVEN consecutive games. His next one will break the single season home run record in the BBCOR era.
Quick side note: what the hell was the LF doing here?
Can you imagine having this much fun this has to be at the D1 level? It's one thing to be hitting .450 in high school and taking advantage of pitchers who have no business being on a mound. This is the SEC where there's talent all over the damn place. This dude is mashing everything thrown his way. Even more silly? How about 35 strikeouts to the 33 homers? Absurd. Not even sure they let you do that in MLB the Show.
So where did this kid come from and why wasn't he known before this year? Crazy enough, he started out at Georgia as a walk-on. The Athletic had a very nice story on him a few days ago detailing the process to get him to this point. Up until his junior year of high school he planned on playing at the DIII level, but once covid happened he had a mental shift as well as a giant growth spurt which unlocked everything. Being a local Georgia guy, enough people got in their manager's ear to give him a shot. The article details the decision making that went into making him a red shirt in 2022, and how Condon maturely handled it all, which all led to this moment. He's become the best hitter in college baseball and has set himself up to possibly discard Caglianone as the number one pick. His versatility in the field will help him, considering he's played all 3 OF positions this year as well as 3rd. And well, the constant ability to do this..
Advertisement
The Guardians need for a power hitting righty could lead push them to take Condon over Caglianone in the draft. Too early to tell if their hot start will keep going, but could you imagine a 90 win Guardians team also adding a bat like this for 2024? Realistically they botch it all, but the opportunity for a gold mine, home run pick is there for the taking. Here's to hoping Georgia goes on a run and finds their way deep into the CWS so we can see this maniac on the big stage.
Just crazy that Condon was nearing a college life at the D3 level and realistically settling for a life outside of sports. Makes you think how many people are out there like Condon who just need the right situation and belief system behind them to unlock insane potential? Last second growth spurts help. Still waiting for mine.