The Rockies fans clamoring for Charlie Condon could soon have their uproar rewarded.
Condon, Colorado’s prized prospect who was the No. 3 overall pick two years ago, has been knocking on the door of his debut in Triple-A Albuquerque all season. Rockies farm director Chris Forbes believes the first baseman/corner outfielder is tracking to appear in LoDo sometime in the second half.
“As far as getting a look (in the majors this season), I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t,” Forbes said. “There’s just a certain calmness to him. He’s the same guy every day. That’s been a big part of his professional journey is getting to the upper levels and recognizing how he wants to be when he shows up at the park every day.
“There’s a lot of chatter about him in the front office. I’m sure (Rockies president of baseball operations Paul DePodesta and general manager Josh Byrnes) want to get through the trade deadline here and see how that goes, and then navigate how this looks right after that.”
The is currently full, so Colorado would have to free up a spot in order to call up Condon. That could be accomplished via a trade ahead of the Aug. 3 deadline, especially considering corner outfielders Mickey Moniak and Troy Johnston are candidates to be dealt.
Condon, 23, is hitting .288 with a .406 on-base percentage and 20 homers in 86 games for the Isotopes this season. He’s found his stride in the minors after a sluggish debut pro season in 2024 where he was affected by a bone spur on his right ring finger, and then a fractured left wrist at the start of last year’s spring training delayed him as well.
Forbes says he’s most impressed by how Condon has dealt with adversity at the plate this season as he’s faced the highest level of minor-league pitching.
“I feel like how he’s going about his process, how his work is on the days where he’s not having that success at the plate and how he’s handling that, the questions he’s asking, the stuff he’s diving into — he’s going to be ready for the opportunity (to debut),” Forbes said.
Arguelles and ACL Rockies win title
The Arizona Complex League Rockies won the ACL Championship Series on Tuesday at Salt River Fields, rallying for a walk-off win over the Reds to become the first Colorado affiliate to win a title since High-A Spokane in 2024.
Central to the ACL Rockies’ championship season was 19-year-old Venezuelan outfielder , who was promoted to Low-A Fresno on Wednesday. Arguelles, ‘s No. 5-ranked Rockies prospect, finished the regular season slashing .402/.478/.671 with 9 homers, 9 triples and 70 RBIs in 57 games.
With that, Arguelles became the first minor-leaguer to hit .400 in a full season in a domestic affiliated league since 2010, and the first to do so with a minimum of 200 plate appearances since 2008. It also marked the second straight season full season that Arguelles has done a Ted Williams impression, as he batted .423 for the DSL Rockies in the 2025 Dominican Summer League.
“His hands work really well, he’s got a good feel for the barrel, he uses all fields and has some power,” Forbes said. “There’s some matureness to what he does in the box. He’s the real deal and he’s a top 100 (prospect) in the game right now.”
Arguelles was the linchpin on a talented ACL Rockies team that led the Arizona Complex League with a .311 batting average and .904 OPS.
“(This title) will only help them down the road and in their development,” ACL Rockies manager Fred Ocasio . “We want to bring a championship to Denver, and this is the first step for these guys in learning how to make that happen.”
More prospect updates
The Rockies from the 2026 MLB Draft, and recently hosted those players for a week-long camp at Salt River Fields.
Colorado’s top three picks — Kentucky shortstop Tyler Bell, Georgia catcher Daniel Jackson and UCLA right-hander Logan Reddemann — were all in attendance. The switch-hitting Bell will have surgery soon to repair and his pro debut will wait until 2027. Reddemann’s pro debut will also be pushed to next year, as Forbes noted “there’s not any urgency” to send the pitcher to an affiliate this summer.
In other injury news, Forbes said top prospect Ethan Holliday is progressing following to fix a stress fracture in his left foot. Forbes says the Rockies’ No. 4 pick last year is tracking to return to live action next spring.
“In a perfect world, you wish you could get him some winter ball at-bats or something like that, but I just don’t think we can rush it,” Forbes said.
Meanwhile, right-hander Brody Brecht is contemplating surgery to address a shoulder impingement that’s sidelined him since mid-May. He’s done for 2026, joining another top Colorado starting pitching prospect on the sidelines, as right-hander JB Middleton had season-ending internal brace surgery on his elbow in late June.
