Champ or Chump: Colton Gordon and Jordan Beck Fantasy Baseball Outlooks

July 1, 2025

Are Colton Gordon and Jordan Beck fantasy baseball sleepers, busts, or neither? Rick takes a deep dive into their 2025 fantasy baseball value.

Fantasy analysts try to guess who might be available on your waiver wire, but every league is different. One of your rivals might drop someone you view as a potential All-Star, and you'll miss out on a huge opportunity if you aren't vigilant about checking your league's transaction wire.

We bring this up now because it's a relatively quiet week in waiver land. No hot prospects got the call, and veterans aren't making a name for themselves, either. If you need help and your rivals haven't dropped someone you're interested in, you're looking at players with warts.

Colton Gordon isn't walking anybody for the Astros, but he might not have the strikeout stuff fantasy managers want. Jordan Beck has been great at Coors Field, but road games are also on his schedule. Let's take a closer look at what these two might offer moving forward.

Colton Gordon (SP, Houston Astros)

9% Rostered

Gordon is a 26-year-old rookie with a 3-1 record and 3.98 earned run average (ERA) over 40 2/3 innings pitched (IP). His ERA estimators suggest he deserves a mark around 3.50, with his 3.51 xERA and 3.46 xFIP hovering around that figure. However, he hasn't garnered fantasy interest because of a 22 percent K% and a fastball that averages 91.3 mph.

Gordon was never much of a prospect, with the Astros selecting him in the eighth round of the 2021 draft. He had some MiLB success with the caveat that the club was slow to promote him, meaning he was old at virtually every level.

Gordon broke into the high minors with Double-A (Corpus Christi) in 2023, pitching to a 3.95 ERA and 4.03 xFIP over 93 1/3 IP. His .299 BABIP looked normal, and he flashed decent strikeout upside with a 30.7 percent K% against a 9.1 percent BB%.

That earned Gordon a 35-inning taste of Triple-A (Sugar Land), but it didn't go well. His 4.63 ERA wasn't great, and his 6.98 xFIP was completely unplayable. Gordon's K% collapsed to 18.4 percent, while he walked more batters with a 13.5 percent BB%. Gordon's .301 BABIP was in the normal range, but there wasn't much to see.

Gordon returned to Sugar Land in 2024 and fared better, posting a 3.94 ERA and 4.85 xFIP over 123 1/3 IP. His 23.8 percent K% and 7.5 percent BB% were better than the previous year, but not significant enough for our purposes. His .292 BABIP was probably on the fortunate side, especially considering Sugar Land's bandbox home park.

Gordon probably realized he wasn't on an MLB trajectory and just stopped walking people in 2025. With Sugar Land, he posted a 2.55 ERA (but 4.20 xFIP) in 42 1/3 IP. His 25.3 percent K% was in line with his prior work, but his 4.7 percent BB% was far better. Even a .330 BABIP couldn't dampen his line.

The pitching-needy Astros gave him a shot in Houston, and while his 22 percent K% is lower than it was in the minors, his 2.9 percent BB% is microscopic. Gordon's total lack of walks is essential to his success, as his arsenal lacks strikeout upside.

Gordon features a five-pitch mix: fastball, slider, sinker, curve, and change. His fastball lacks velocity, but its 2,045 rotations per minute (RPM) is low enough to induce soft contact and give Gordon a chance. It's 7.1 percent swinging strike percentage (SwStr%) and 66.9 percent Zone% are also solid.

Gordon's most thrown secondary is his slider, which he uses as a bendy fastball, considering its 50.2 percent Zone% and 25.2 percent chase rate. Its 12.6 percent SwStr% isn't great for a slider, though it isn't used as a put-away pitch anyway.

His sinker has a 3.2 percent SwStr% and 65.6 percent Zone%, making it an inferior version of Gordon's fastball. Ironically, its 31.3 percent chase rate is the highest in Gordon's arsenal. That's a champ/chump first, though it's more of an indictment of the rest of the repertoire than complimentary to his sinker.

Gordon's curve offers the highest SwStr% at 13.4 percent, but it's yet another fastball-like offering with a 58.2 percent Zone% and 28.6 percent chase rate. Finally, his changeup is mediocre with a 7.9 percent SwStr%, 44.7 percent Zone%, and 28.6 percent chase rate. Gordon got strikeouts on the farm, but it's hard to see how.

Very few pitchers are true-talent 2.9 percent BB% arms. If Gordon's BB% doubles to 5.8 percent (which would still be good), the overall package won't work. He's averaging about five innings per start, so a strong team like the Astros could help him post wins. Still, there's very little margin for error.

Gordon pitches at Coors Field tonight, and a stream could work since the Rockies are so bad even altitude can't make their bats anything other than wet pool noodles. Of course, better pitchers have succumbed to Coors in the past. His next scheduled start would be July 6 @LAD, and that's a hard pass.

Colton Gordon delivered tonight

A+ outing? pic.twitter.com/OlyHEjbIAl

— SleeperAstros (@SleeperAstros) June 26, 2025

There's nothing wrong with riding a hot streak, but Gordon looks like a long-term Chump.

Jordan Beck (OF, Colorado Rockies)

18% Rostered

Beck isn't a household name, but he's slashing a respectable .260/.320/.461 with 10 homers and nine steals over 294 plate appearances (PAs). A .260 hitter on a 20/20 pace should be rostered in more leagues, but playing for a dreadful Colorado squad and career-long strikeout issues dampen enthusiasm.

The 24-year-old has some prospect pedigree as a 38th-overall pick in 2022, but his FanGraphs write-up said that he "wouldn't hit MLB pitching." He struggled with MiLB pitching in 2023, hitting .240/.342/.406 with five homers and nine steals in 223 PAs for Double-A (Hartford). He was caught stealing twice for an 82 percent success rate, but that's the end of the positives.

Needing a .353 BABIP to hit .240 is not good, and a 31.8 percent K% backed by a 16.1 percent SwStr% is alarming. Beck's 10 percent HR/FB was too low for someone with so many strikeouts, and his 13.5 percent BB% wouldn't repeat unless Beck convinces opposing pitchers he represents a threat.

The Rockies thought Beck was ready for Triple-A, so they promoted him to Triple-A (Albuquerque) for 2024. He took full advantage of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, slashing .319/.402/.558 with eight homers and six steals in 189 PAs. His .389 BABIP and 20 percent HR/FB were likely byproducts of the environment, but there was some improvement.

Beck cut his SwStr% to 14 percent and his K% to 23.3 percent, while his BB% held steady at 12.2 percent. His 29.4 percent chase rate was solid, and he was caught stealing only once, resulting in an 86 percent success rate. The Rockies decided he was MLB-ready, but his first taste of the Show went poorly.

Beck hit .188/.245/.276 with three homers and seven steals in 184 PAs. His BB% plummeted to 6.5%, while his K% surged to 35.3%, driven by a 16.4% SwStr%. His 8.6 percent HR/FB didn't suggest much raw pop, and his .282 BABIP was low for someone calling Coors home. Even his 32.1 percent chase rate was disappointing, considering his performance on the farm.

Beck began 2025 on Colorado's roster but was sent back to Triple-A for 37 PAs when he wasn't hitting. He's performed better since. Beck's .337 BABIP makes sense for a Coors Field hitter, while his 13.5 percent HR/FB suggests at least some pop. His four caught stealing on the season give him a 69 percent success rate, but that wasn't an issue in the minors.

Most importantly, Beck substantially improved his plate discipline with a 12.9 percent SwStr% and 26.9 percent chase rate. His 27.9 percent K% is still high, but the underlying peripherals suggest positive regression should be forthcoming if he can keep doing what he's been doing. He also hits second or third, giving him counting stat opportunities by Rockies standards.

Of course, Beck has to contend with massive home-road splits as a Rockie. At Coors, he's hitting .301/.344/.476 with four homers in 154 PAs. On the road, that drops to .214/.293/.444 with six homers in 140 PAs. There's still some slug on the road, but you want to limit him to Coors games if you can.

Jordan Beck vs. the Dodgers tonight:

3/5, 2 singles, 1 double, 2 R, 2 RBIs pic.twitter.com/O30K7GZ9Kv

— Christian Saez🎙 (@DNVRSaez) June 25, 2025

Fortunately, the Rockies are home all week. Beck isn't a set-and-forget fantasy option, but his improved plate discipline and home park give him fantasy viability. The outfielder is a Champ so long as you deploy him correctly.

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