Rox second pick Middleton eager for the Coors Field challenge: 'I want to pitch there'

DENVER -- University of Southern Mississippi right-hander JB Middleton's 2025 season included a deep postseason run and Mississippi collegiate player of the year honors. It also placed him high on MLB Draft boards.

But Middleton -- the Rockies' second-round pick (45th overall) in the MLB Draft -- said toughness gained through struggles as a freshman in 2023 was just as valuable. He a foot injury and so-so numbers that season.

“I had a few bumps my freshman year, which was good for me, because I was learning how to be resilient,” Middleton said. “I had a lot more games where I didn't succeed my freshman year than games I did.”

It was a long way from 0-3 with an 8.68 ERA in 2023 to this past season. He posted the second-lowest WHIP in Division I at 0.85 and led the Golden Eagles to the NCAA Hattiesburg Regional Final. Starting with learning how to attack hitters while pitching in the Cape Cod League after his freshman year, Middleton honed a four-pitch mix and grew in effectiveness when he faced runners on base.

Overcoming tough times and pressure seems good preparation for a pitcher who potentially could call Coors Field his home. During the recent MLB Draft Combine, Middleton, 21, began believing he and the Rockies were a match.

“You just really don't know what's going to happen, but I had it in the back of my mind,” Middleton said. “After my meeting with them at the Combine, I knew that's a place that I would love to be. When I got the call yesterday, it was, ‘It all worked out.’”

The ability tops the list of reasons for the pick.

The prototype right-hander is taller than Middleton's 6-foot listing. But enough shorter righties have succeeded for the Rockies to dig into reasons for the effectiveness of folks like Roy Oswalt, a former Astros star (who pitched for the Rockies late in his career).

The team has increased use of advanced data in scouting, with pitching coordinator of amateur scouting Brett Baldwin and area scout Garrick Chaffee crunching the numbers with the research and development department. The numbers say Middleton has elite “carry” at the top of the strike zone on his fastball, the vertical break of his changeup is especially sharp, and the changeup works to the arm side.

More on the Rockies' 2025 Draft:

• Rockies take Ethan Holliday, son of franchise great, at No. 4 overall
• Holliday on Holliday: 2022's No. 1 pick gives scouting report on '25 Draft pick brother
• Rockies Draft Tracker
• Rockies' Day 2 picks

Remember how Middleton said he and the Rox hit it off at the pre-Draft meeting? It was not because they discussed numbers.

“It wasn't an interrogative-type meeting, like we were giving him a test,” director of scouting operations Marc Gustafson said. “We talked about simplifying a few things, trying to not get too cluttered.

“At the same time, we talked working at the little things in the game, holding runners on, being able to execute a pitch in a 1-1 count -- a changeup that needs to be executed. We talked just about life, and then we talked about baseball.”

Rockies area scout Zack Zulli has known Middleton since the righty was an undersized high school pitcher at Benton (Miss.) Academy. Zulli paid attention when Southern Miss coach Christian Ostrander, with an eye for pitching development and a system valuing competitiveness, brought on Middleton and built his physical strength.

“He was an underdeveloped, small-town country boy,” Zulli said. “But he walked onto the Southern Miss campus as a freshman, and you saw the 97s and the arm talent. Then you saw the Roy Oswalt [comparisons]. And Coach Ostrander developed him right.”

Valuable as the early struggles were, the success of 2025 is what Middleton wants to repeat -- especially in the Majors.

“I want to pitch there,” he said. “Make a career out of it.”