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This Rockies Catching Prospect Could Be Setup for Breakout 2026 Season

After a solid 2025 season, this Rockies catching prospect could be setup for an even bigger 2026.

Tobey Schulman

May 23, 2024; Hoover, AL, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks catcher Cole Messina (19) celebrates a two RBI single against the LSU Tigers during the SEC Baseball Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium.
May 23, 2024; Hoover, AL, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks catcher Cole Messina (19) celebrates a two RBI single against the LSU Tigers during the SEC Baseball Tournament at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. / Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images
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The future of the Colorado Rockies, especially that of the farm system, looks much brighter than it has in previous seasons. With names like Ethan Holliday and Charlie Condon now making their way through the farm, a new era of Rockies baseball seems imminent in the National League West.

It's not just the big-name prospects that are making this future seem brighter than normal. It's the prospects from the back-end of the MLB Pipeline top 30 rankings as well. One prospect in particular still looking for that full breakout season, is their No. 25 prospect Cole Messina.

A catching prospect from the University of South Carolina, Messina is no stranger to high level competition, dating back to his days playing in the SEC. In three seasons with the Gamecocks, Messina would slash .305/.436/.625, with 38 home runs in 138 games.

The production in college was good enough to earn Messina a third round selection from Colorado at the No. 77 overall pick. According to his scouting grades on MLB Pipeline, he brings average power and defense with his 6-foot-0, 230 pound frame.

Messina would get a cup of coffee with High-A Spokane after the draft, slashing .140/.232/.220 over 17 games, before playing a full 110 game season in 2025. Over that stretch, he'd show that he'd adjust to High-A, slashing .259/.358/.382 in 107 games, with seven home runs, and 23 doubles.

Messina would even play above the 30-grade speed he was given on MLB Pipeline, recording 14 stolen bases with Spokane in 2025. Upon a promotion to Double-A Hartford, he would finish out the season playing three games, recording two hits.

Messina's 2025 campaign was solid and showed flashes of upside that could hint at an even bigger potential breakout season in 2026.

When looking at his monthly splits from this past season, Messina improved on his plate discipline greatly in the second half. He raised his on-base percentage from .350 in the first half to .359, with 23 walks to 29 strikeouts, compared to 28 walks and 44 strikeouts in the first half.

Continuing to limit strikeouts will only help Messina, who already doesn't have that as a major issue with a 16.4% strikeout rate in 2025.

As a pull-heavy hitter, Messina still makes a fair amount of fly-ball contact, but continuing to cut down on the ground balls will add to his success, maybe even resulting in a few more homers per year. He already makes contact at an efficient rate, and if that continues the numbers should trend upward.

With a deep farm system, the Rockies hope to build a winning team from within. With breakout seasons from some of their lesser-known prospects like Cole Messina, that possible winning team could come sooner rather than later.

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Tobey Schulman
TOBEY SCHULMAN

Tobey Schulman is a freelance writer currently covering baseball in the South Florida area, independently on X and SubStack. Prior to freelancing, Tobey was a writer for The Skippers View, covering both Major and Minor League Baseball. Over the past year, he has grown a following of almost 10,000 on X, while covering all things across the sport, both professional and amateur. In his free time he produces and live streams a podcast ‘Inside The Diamond’, where he co-hosts player interviews, breakdowns, and game watch parties.

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