Rockies Draft Pick Draws Comparisons to Cardinals Three-Time All-Star Ace

The Colorado Rockies selected a pitcher who is drawing some rave comparisons.

Southern Miss' JB Middleton (18) pitches against Tennesee in the NCAA Baseball Tournament's Knoxville Regional on Sunday, June 2, 2024 in Knoxville, Tenn. / Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Colorado Rockies were in desperate need of a good showing in the 2025 MLB draft.

Their organization is currently lacking high-upside and impact talent in the minor leagues, which has led to some disastrous results at the Major League level.

On pace to break the single-season record for losses, which was set by the Chicago White Sox last year with 121, the Rockies needed some good luck in the draft to start turning their fortunes around.

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They received just that when high school star Ethan Holliday fell to the No. 4 pick, where they quickly scooped him up.

Regarded by some as the best prospect in this year’s draft class, Holliday will look to follow in the footsteps of his father, a seventh-round pick in the 1998 MLB draft by Colorado who turned into one of the best players in franchise history, making three All-Star teams during his tenure with the franchise.

A lot of the attention from their draft haul has been focused on Holliday, the younger brother of Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday, and rightfully so.

He will be the face of this draft class, and potentially the Rockies, in the near future.

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But he is far from the only player who has a chance to help Colorado get out of this rut and start performing better in the near future.

Another player to keep an eye on is JB Middleton.

The right-handed pitcher was the second-round pick of the Rockies, selected No. 45 overall, and he has drawn some comparisons that will excite the fan base.

“Middleton, listed at just 6-foot, may remind you a little of Sonny Gray. Predictably, he has a shorter release height that pairs well with the rise he's able to impart on his fastball,” wrote R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports in a piece highlighting each of his favorite picks by every team after the first round.

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The Univeristy of Southern Mississippi product performed well in his three collegiate seasons.

He had a 3.20 ERA across 152 innings with 178 strikeouts. His improvement with his control, recording a 2.1 BB/9 ratio after being at 6.0 in 2024, likely played a major role in him being selected where he was.

After his freshman year, when he surrendered 2.7 HR/9, Middleton dropped that number to 0.7 in both his sophomore and junior seasons.

Always in need of pitching help, landing a player with the upside of Sonny Gray is a great addition to the organization. Free agent pitchers aren’t going to sign with Colorado, so it is imperative they draft and develop young arms to help them reach the All-Star upside they possess.

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