Christian Colon “Ready To Go” At Short Or Second
Fourth overall pick Christian Colon says his game is polished enough to take him to the majors before long and he's not the only one who thinks so. Rival executives told ESPN.com's Buster Olney that the Cal State Fullerton shortstop could reach the majors by next year. The Royals have to sign Colon for that to happen, and the 21-year-old says he hasn't thought about the terms of or timeline for a deal.
"I haven't talked to anybody about it," he said. "[The Royals] know that I'm ready to go. They know that I want to play."
ESPN.com's Keith Law suspects that the Royals have the framework of a deal in place with Colon and his agent, Scott Boras. Colon isn't concerning himself with the negotiations, but the Royals have already earned points for style.
"I think the Kansas City hat looks really good on me," Colon said.
The shortstop likes watching Elvis Andrus and Derek Jeter, but some project him as a second baseman. Colon grew up watching Roberto Alomar and now likes watching Martin Prado, so he says he's open to a positional change.
"I see myself as a shortstop," he said. "But if the Kansas City Royals see me as a second baseman, then I'm all for it."
Colon, who says he has become stronger since the Padres drafted him in 2007, repeatedly referred to himself as a "born leader" during this afternoon's media conference call. He could soon join recent first rounders Billy Butler (2004), Alex Gordon (2005), Luke Hochevar (2006), Mike Moustakas (2007), Eric Hosmer (2008) and Aaron Crow (2009) in the Kansas City organization.
Christian Colon Could Help Royals Soon
College shortstop Christian Colon was always the Royals' top choice at #4, writes Bob Dutton of the Kansas City Star. The Royals told Dutton that links to Yasmani Grandal and Chris Sale were a smokescreen.
The Royals' assistant GM of scouting and player development, J.J. Picollo, told Dutton the team feels Colon's price is within reason. Colon is a Scott Boras client, but he may sign quickly and head to A ball. ESPN's Keith Law says, "I believe the Royals' selection of Colon at #4 indicates that they've already worked out the parameters of an agreement." Rival executives tell Law's colleague Buster Olney Colon could be in the Majors as early as next year.
Baseball America writes that Colon profiles as a "future big league regular, best suited as an offensive second baseman." Picollo, however, explained that reports of Colon having limited range and speed stemmed from a broken leg last year.
Picollo will be on the clock again shortly, as the Royals pick fourth in the second round today.