Isaac Stevens | March 14, 2025

It’s top 3 time. The Rockies have a lot of quality talents in the system, but it’s the top 3 who all have some type of rare ability, starting with Brody Brecht–the flamethrowing former Big 10 football player.

Full List of Prospects Rankings
Honorable Mentions | Prospects 36-40 | Prospects 31-35 | Prospects 30-26
Prospects 21 – 25 | Prospects 16-20 | Prospects 11-15 | Prospects 8-10 | Prospects 7-6 | Prospect 5 | Prospect 4

#3 – RHP Brody Brecht

The Rockies are a team that historically loves players with elite athleticism. Recent examples of these could be Nolan Jones and Brenton Doyle–who both had a 20/20 season respectively in 2023 and 2024.

One of the easier tactics the Rockies have used is if they have played any other sports, and they have history to back up this claim. Todd Helton, the best Rockies player of all time, was also a quarterback at the University of Tennessee, even playing ahead of NFL Legend Peyton Manning on the depth chart. Another collegiate quarterback is former Rockies outfielder Seth Smith, who fittingly was the backup quarterback for Eli Manning (Peyton’s brother) for Ole Miss. Former Rockies outfielder Kyle Parker was the starting quarterback at Clemson for two seasons.

There are also NFL legends who were drafted by the Rockies, but never played in MLB. NFL Super Bowl Champion Russell Wilson played two seasons in the Rockies organization, but opted to pursue his football career. Wilson has the 12th most passing touchdowns in NFL history, and counting.

One of the best rushing quarterbacks in NFL history, Michael Vick was drafted by the Rockies in the 30th round of the 2000 draft, but never signed. He currently holds the NFL record in career yards per carry at 7.0. 

So when former two-sport athlete Brody Brecht was available at the 38th pick in the 2024 Draft, the Rockies were quick to select him. Unlike the other football players the Rockies have drafted, Brecht played wide receiver for the Iowa Hawkeyes. He redshirted his freshman season of football, and by his second season of football he started 5 games for the Hawkeyes, compiling 87 yards across the season–not a major amount but fair for a two-sport athlete in an offensively limited system. After his redshirt freshman season, he decided to stop playing football to focus on baseball full time.

Focusing on only baseball proved to be the right call for Brecht, as he quickly became one of the best pitchers in NCAA after his freshman year. In 2023, Brecht’s sophomore year, he tossed 77 innings en route to a 3.74 ERA while striking out 32.9% of batters, earning praise as arguably the top pitching prospect in college baseball. Brecht one-upped his 2023 season with a 3.33 ERA and near 35% strikeout rate. He was projected to be selected somewhere in the first round as one of the best pitchers on the draft board. So when he fell all the way to the 38th pick, the Rockies struck gold. 

Of any pitcher drafted in 2024, Brecht had the best pitch arsenal, and there was considerable separation between him and number 2. While both players were still at the NCAA level, Brecht’s stuff was often compared to the extraordinary Paul Skenes in terms of pure power and filth with Brecht’s fastball sitting in the upper-90s, touching 100 often. Brecht even touched 104 MPH in 2023; that’s insane.

Brecht’s fastball isn’t even his best pitch either, which might be the craziest part of this puzzle. He offers a slider over 50% of the time, and its steep slurve-esque movement has been the best pitch in college baseball two seasons in a row, slotting in as BSB’s number 1 breaking ball in the organization. Brecht also includes a splitter that is still developing, but also has elite peripherals, giving him potential for a plus third pitch. 

All of that sounds like Brecht should’ve been a top 5 pick, but concerns from MLB teams should not go unnoticed. There’s a big asterisk next to his command, and it indicates that Brecht is not polished as he needs to be to get to the big leagues. Brecht walked 13.3% of batters in 2024, leading to a 1.21 WHIP–not ideal for a top 50 pick.

Another concern is with the shape of his fastball. Yes, he throws the ball harder than most players in the entire world, but it’s also one of the more hittable 100 MPH in baseball. It’s believed that this could be due to Iowa’s analytics department (the best in the nation) focusing solely on his slider, but it’s also made his slider one of the best pitches–pick your poison type situation. 

To clarify, Brecht’s fastball is steeper than average whereas an elite modern fastball comes in with a flatter shape, giving the illusion of rise. However, the steepness of Brecht’s slider is also what makes it so dominant.

Joining an MLB organization is always good for player development, no matter the team. The Rockies have had players that have been there and done that, similar to Brody Brecht. They turned Chase Dollander’s shaky Junior season of college into one of the best MiLB pitching seasons in Rockies history in just one off season, giving reason to believe they can do something similar with Brecht. The arm talent is there, and now it’ll take profound refinement to turn Brecht into an inevitable MLB pitcher.