A former Friday starter for the University of Central Florida, Colton Gordon was immediately intriguing when the Astros made him their 8th round pick in the 2021 draft. He was only a few months removed from Tommy John surgery at that time and his meandering path through college ball, which included two transfers, limited his amateur workload further, but the short track record he was able to compile as a collegiate offered plenty of intrigue. Gordon was successful in the classic raw run prevention sense, and only looked more impressive when peeking under the hood.
A low arm slot lefty, the surface level appearance of Gordon’s game is that of a reliever type with platoon splits, but the reality is quite different.