Gordon gets shot at a big stage for Israel
MIAMI — Colton Gordon pitched in his first Grapefruit League game for the Astros on March 4. Just over a week later, he is preparing to play on the biggest stage of his professional career: the World Baseball Classic.
Gordon, a 24-year-old lefthander, is scheduled to start on the mound for Team Israel against Team Puerto Rico on Monday in a pool play game at loanDepot Park. He will face a Puerto Rico lineup loaded with MLB players, the likes of Francisco Lindor and Javier Báez .
It is without a doubt his biggest test so far, he said.
“Absolutely,” Gordon said. “I think part of that is the awareness to just accept that. It’s just so cool, because the World Baseball Classic, besides a World Series and maybe a playoff atmosphere, this is as good as it gets.”
According to MLB.com, Gordon is the Astros’ No. 10 prospect and top-ranked pitching prospect behind Hunter Brown, who appeared in seven major league regular-season games and three postseason games in 2022.
Gordon was just two months removed from Tommy John surgery when he was drafted by the Astros in 2021 as an eighth-round pick from Central Florida. He spent his first year as a pro rehabbing his elbow, during which he got acquainted with some of the club’s big leaguers, before he returned to the mound last July. Whereas some in his position might be frustrated by the delay, Gordon saw it as a blessing in disguise.
“First of all, physically, I got stronger,” he said. “I think it gave me time to kind of slow the process down and take it one day at a time, as far as, you got to get healthy before you can do anything else. And I was able to meet new people, experience a lot and just learn a lot from being around different levels of people in the organization. Really, looking back on it, I’m grateful for the chance to just be healthy and all of that helped get me where I’m at now.”
Gordon pitched across three levels in the minors last year, the highest with High-A Asheville.
He threw a total of 53 2⁄3 innings and posted a 2.35 ERA and .80 WHIP. In 15 appearances, 11 starts, he had 78 strikeouts and issued eight walks.
Gordon said the Astros have not addressed with him whether they portend him as a starter or a reliever long-term.
“No, not necessarily. I think starter, I do think that,” he said. “I want to be a starter. But then again, I want to pitch and I want to help the team. I’ll be a reliever, I’ll do whatever is needed of me. But at the end of the day, just take it one day at a time and see what happens.”
He said his velocity is pretty much back to what it was prior to the surgery, topping out around 94 mph on his fourseam fastball. But what he lacks in speed he makes up for in command.
Asked to name his biggest weapon, Gordon instead rattled off four.
“Fastball, curveball, changeup, slider,” he said. “I know that’s literally everything I throw, but I think that’s what makes me, me — the ability to just command my pitches and attack with whatever pitch that may be that day or depending on the batter. Part of what I really think I do well is just to control my pitches and where they’re going and just execute.”
Gordon’s first big league call-up isn’t projected to happen until 2024, though he cited Brown as an example of how unforeseen circumstances (in Brown’s case it was Justin Verlander’s injury and Houston’s desire to employ a sixman rotation) can accelerate that process.
“There’s always opportunities,” he said. “I mean, look: our team is unbelievable, top to bottom, whatever the position it is. I mean, we just won a World Series. We won the World Series for a reason. So with that being said, I want to help the team as soon as I can. And whatever role that may be, I’m willing to take that role on.”
In the meantime, he’ll get a taste of major-league life in the World Baseball Classic. Team Israel, managed by four-time MLB All-Star Ian Kinsler, has a roster that includes Giants outfielder Joc Pederson, Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs and Orioles pitcher Dean Kremer.
Gordon said he expects to have about 15 to 20 family members in attendance on Monday to watch him pitch in Miami.
For a Jewish kid who grew up in Florida, splitting time between his mom in Bradenton and dad in St. Petersburg, and who had a baseball-themed Bar Mitzvah party, it’s a dream come true.
“I think it’s an honor,” Gordon said. “We’ve been talking about it a lot the last couple of days, especially just you know, it’s different. You’re representing a nation, right? It’s excitement. It’s an honor. It’s a privilege. It’s an ability to not only showcase what our team is about, but on a personal level, my talent as well. So just ready to go.”