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College  | Story  | 5/20/2010

Model of Consistency: Christian Colon

Patrick Ebert     
In the past I have profiled the success of notable college performers such as Matt Wieters and Buster Posey.  Both of those players hit the ground running upon beginning their college careers at Georgia Tech and Florida State, respectively, and continue to perform at a high level in professional baseball.  Wieters is already the everyday catcher for the Baltimore Orioles, while Posey is knocking at the door at the big leagues, posting impressive numbers at the plate at the AAA level.
 
Cal State Fullerton shortstop Christian Colon is a similar prospect in regards to his initial and continued success in college.
 
He arrived at Fullerton with an already impressive resume as an unsigned 10th round pick of the Padres from the 2007 draft.  He was named the MVP of the Aflac All-American Classic during the summer of 2006 after collecting two hits, scoring three runs and swiping three bases.  He was also rated the fifth-best positional prospect at the 2006 Perfect Game National Showcase in Fayetteville, Ark.
 
Previously known as Christian Rodriguez, he was born in Puerto Rico and went to three different high schools.  He is a four-time participant with Team USA, spending the last two summers with the Collegiate National team while spending the summer of ’06 with the 18U team and the summer before that with the 16U team.  He was named the first-ever captain of the collegiate team last summer, and was the only player to start and play every game during the summer of 2008 when the team went 24-0.
 
He broke his leg in the second-to-last game last summer with Team USA but has recovered nicely, and despite a slow start, he once again is hitting much like he had during his freshman and sophomore years.
 
One area that he noticeably has improved on is his power. He’s hit 14 home runs already this season and hit five in 23 games last summer with a wood bat, tops on the team.  While he doesn’t have the ideal range to play shortstop, his leadership skills and overall baseball acumen allow him to make all of the plays and could allow him to stick at the position.  If not, he could become an All-Star caliber second baseman with the ability to hit at or near the top of a lineup.
 
Similar to his defense, while he lacks ideal foot speed, he shows good instincts on the base paths.
 
Here are his numbers from the past three years, including his two summer stints with Team USA:
 
2010, Cal State Fullerton (through 5/16):
.351/.444/.634, 11 2B, 2 3B, 14 HR, 10 stolen bases in 16 attempts, 12 errors
 
2009, Team USA:
.362/.459/.617, 3 2B, 3 3B, 5 HR, 24 stolen bases in 26 attempts, 7 errors
 
2009, Cal State Fullerton:
.357/442/.529, 16 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 15 stolen bases in 22 attempts, 11 errors
 
2008, Team USA:
.263/.339/.313, 2 2B, 1 HR, 5 stolen bases in 9 attempts, 5 errors
 
2008, Cal State Fullerton:
.329/.406/.444, 12 2B, 2 3B, 4 HR, 13 stolen bases in 17 attempts, 17 errors
 
Collectively he is hitting .338/.424/.515, which is very similar to the numbers he has posted each year at each level.  He also has managed the strike zone very well, posting a 87-to-75 walk-to-strikeout ratio.  He has been successful on 67 of his 90 stolen-base attempts (a 74% success rate), although only 43 for 64 (67%) if you take away his impressive 24 for 26 success rate from last summer.
 
Statistical success obviously does not translate to professional baseball, as the presence of the wood bat alone makes it impossible to project how well any hitter will fare at the next level.  However, the consistency of his production, his ability to manage the strike zone and his improved power output lead me to believe that few, if any, players eligible for this year’s draft are as sure of a bet to succeed at the professional level than Colon.
 
Choice’s Consistency
 
Michael Choice may not have the lengthy resume that Colon does, but he too has been impressively consistent since beginning his college career at Texas-Arlington.  David Rawnsley recently profiled Choice when looking back at some of this year’s top prospects and how they fared at Perfect Game showcase events in high school:
 
https://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=2294
 
Let’s jump right into the numbers:
 
2010, Texas-Arlington (through 5/16):
.401/.578/.750, 10 2B, 1 3B, 16 HR
 
2009, Team USA:
.350/.453/.550, 3 2B, 3 HR
 
2009, Texas-Arlington:
.413/.478/.695, 13 2B, 3 3B, 11 HR
 
2008, Texas-Arlington:
.376/.440/.558, 9 2B, 3 3B, 7 HR
 
Collectively he’s hitting .393/.501/.638 during his collegiate career.  His on-base percentage is skewed by the number of times he has walked this year, as he has been pitched around quite a bit in Southland Conference play.  His batting average is pretty close to what he has been doing each year at each level, with his power numbers improving since he began his college career in 2008.
 
The increase in power this year has come with increased strikeout totals as well (44 so far this year), as prior to this season he had struck out only 30 and 35 times, respectively,  during his sophomore and freshman years.  Overall, he too manages the strike zone very well, with a 127-to-122 walk-to-strikeout ratio.
 
A good overall athlete, stolen bases aren’t a big part of Choice’s game, but he has been successful on 28 of 36 attempts (a 78% success rate).  He has the ability to play center field, but may settle in at an outfield corner at the next level.
 
Not only are the results impressive, but scouting reports indicate that Choice is hitting the ball consistently hard, and he is currently leading the nation in walks.  There are rumblings that he could sneak into the top 10 overall picks, and isn’t likely to slide out of the first half of the first round of this year’s draft.
 
Like Colon, while you never know how the numbers will translate at the next level, his consistency over the years, budding power and ability to manage the strike zone should allow him to minimize the growing pains once he begins his professional career this summer.
 
The thoughts and opinions listed here do not necessarily reflect those of Perfect Game USA.  Patrick Ebert is affiliated with both Perfect Game USA and 5 Tool Talk, and can be contacted via email at pebert@5tooltalk.com.
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