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Christian Colon (Photo by William Purnell/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

No professional sports draft has as many sliding doors as the MLB Draft, in which the futures of organizations and collegiate programs rest with 18-year-old draftees weighing a difficult decision. 

Originally selected by the Padres in the 10th round of the 2007 draft, Canyon High School (Calif.) infielder Christian Colon was set to stand by his demand for top-three-round money and bypass his commitment to Cal State Fullerton. But as the Aug. 15 signing deadline approached, Colon was still wrestling with the option to sign under his original number. 

“It was really tough,” Colon said. “I didn’t want to go to school. I wanted to go play and start my career. My dad pushed academics, and in that aspect, he was very involved in that I went to school and got my degree.”

Colon’s father was right, and the Cal State Fullerton baseball program was thankful. From the moment he set foot on campus, Colon was a star, and in his three years, he turned in one of the best college careers of the decade. 

Colon was a college shortstop from the get-go, leading Fullerton teams that hosted three consecutive super regionals and reached Omaha during his 2009 sophomore season. Colon was a Baseball America Freshman All-American in 2008, a second-team All-American in 2009 and a first-team All-American in 2010. 

His collegiate summers were equally impressive. Colon was a rare two-time member of the U.S. Collegiate National Team and was named the captain of the 2009 squad. 

“That was a huge honor, I didn’t take that lightly at all,” Colon said. “I felt like that was one of my biggest accomplishments in baseball.”

Even after suffering a broken leg at the tail end of his 2009 Team USA stint, Colon’s 2010 spring had him primed to be one of Fullerton’s two first-round draft picks along with teammate Gary Brown. He just didn’t know quite where in the first round. 

“The last update I received was that day, when my advisor said, ‘You’re going to be a first-rounder,’” Colon recalled. “He didn’t tell me where!”

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While preparing to play UCLA in what would be his final super regional, Colon watched the draft, in which Bryce Harper, Jameson Taillon and Manny Machado were selected with the first three picks. The moment Baltimore selected Machado Colon’s phone rang with news from his advisor that the Royals were taking him fourth overall. 

“It’s a feeling that I’ll never forget,” Colon said. “All the doubt, like ‘Wow, someone does believe in me, and they see what I’ve always seen.’ It was reassuring.”

For Colon, the selection proved to be a blessing and a curse. 

Upon joining the Royals, hitting coaches began working to fit Colon’s game to the big ballpark at Kauffman Stadium. As an amateur, he’d focused on lifting the ball and pullside power, but his new bosses stressed an up-the-middle approach that went away from what’d made him successful in college. As a result, his early minor league performance was good, not great, and not what was expected of a player drafted ahead of Matt Harvey and Chris Sale. 

“People dig,” Colon said. “I remember a manager at the time said, ‘This is our fourth pick overall? A 5-foot-10 shortstop?’ Saying things like that out loud. It starts messing with you.”

Initially thought to be close to the majors when drafted, Colon didn’t make his big league debut until his fourth full professional season. He seemingly found himself deprioritized by the organization that drafted him. After the Royals acquired Alcides Escobar in the Zack Greinke trade, Colon was moved to second base. The 2013 signing of Omar Infante meant Colon’s only path to Kansas City was in a utility role.

Along the way, the former fourth-overall pick heard only what made him not a quality big league option. 

“That really broke my spirit,” Colon said. “Everything was around what I couldn’t do … I felt like I caught a lot of flack for being picked that high, but never received a fair shot.”

Colon spent parts of six seasons bouncing between the big leagues and Triple-A. While the highs were high—he drove in the tying run and scored the winning run of the Royals’ 2014 AL Wild Card Series win and drove in a run during their 2015 World Series victory—the pressure to live up to the expectations of his draft slot and lack of a permanent big league role wore on him. 

Colon retired following the 2021 season with the goal of finding a new path in baseball. Now, he can look back on the positives he accomplished as a professional, rather than solely dwelling on what he didn’t. 

“I wouldn’t change anything from how things played out, because I’m proud,” Colon said. “I’m proud of what we accomplished as an organization.”