Pirate Draft Options at SS: Christian Colon

[Christian Colon Matt Brown Photo.com]

Christian Colon is the smallest of the top ranked shortstops at 6 foot, 185 pounds.  But he looks, acts, and delivers like the image you have of a big-time shortstop.  As Pittsburgh Pirate fans we haven’t been able to enjoy a big-time shortstop wearing black and gold in the recent past.  But perhaps Colon, or one of the other two players we posted in this series, will change that in a few years.

Colon was a stud coming out of high school and in 2006 was the MVP  of the prestigious AFLAC All-American Game.  Colon went two-for-three with three stolen bases and three runs scored.

C.C. has been the starting SS for Cal State Fullerton since he stepped on campus.  He has only missed one start in his collegiate career.  Colon will begin his 2010 junior season as a pre-season All-American which was announced here. 

Despite not having much above an average arm, speed or range, Colon has worked hard at becoming one of the best players in the country.  In 2007, the Padres drafted “C.C.” in the tenth round of the draft.

He has great contact ability (8%K rate) and had a solid .357/.442/.529 for CSFU in 2009 with 26 extra base hits.  He was the leadoff hitter by the end of the season.  Everything I read says Colon has great instincts.

Colon was God-like while serving as Captain of Team USA this summer.   His impressive stats show that not only was he a leader off the field, but served as the role model on it as well with 37RBI and five HR’s to lead the 2009 Team USA in 23 games played.  He stole  24 bases in 26 attempts.  He only struck out six times despite also leading the team in at bats with 94.  He also had seven errors.

Baseball America writes that most of his skills are average, he simply works his tail off to be the best player possible.  Concern over his arm strength could move him to 2B in the big leagues.  But the big question in the short term is whether he can bounce back from a broken tibia and fibia which he suffered in a collision in the semi-finals at The World Baseball Challenge.

Jonathan Mayo has Colon as the second ranked SS behind Machado and 19th on his board.  Baseball America honored Colon with an outstanding achievement in this article.