Age: 22
Level: Double-A
Position: Catcher
Bats/Throws: Right/Right
Height/Weight: 6′ 230 pounds
Acquired: 2024 Draft, Round 3
Previous BSB Ranking: 23rd
Pic Credit: James Snook
Player Summary
Brief Summary
Cole Messina, the Rockies’ 2024 second-round pick, has shown steady development as a true catcher in High-A Spokane. After two strong college seasons at South Carolina, he posted league-average hitting with solid plate discipline in his first professional season. At 5-foot-11, 230 lbs, Messina has natural power that hasn’t fully translated yet, but his approach suggests room to grow. Defensively, he profiles as a reliable backstop, with MLB contributions possible as soon as 2027.
More detailed breakdown
The catcher position is one that has always seemed to elude the Rockies at every turn. With Hunter Goodman having the start he is having to his career, it may seem like we have found our guy, but we have been here before. Cole Messina is a true catcher who took over the reins of the South Carolina backstop in 2023 and played two full seasons there before declaring for the 2024 MLB Draft. The Rockies saw the potential and drafted him 77th overall with a signing bonus just north of one million dollars. In his first season and some change in pro ball, Cole Messina has mostly been assigned at High-A Spokane, over 2,500 miles away from where he was born and raised in South Carolina. This time in High-A has been remarkably unnoteworthy, which isn’t always a bad thing for prospects. He was a league-average hitter with a 17% K-rate and a 11.3% BB-rate. Both solid numbers for a big body like Messina that will have power potential.
For Messina, the question in 2026 will be whether or not he can turn some of that raw power into game power. For a player who had 38 homers in just over two seasons in college, failing to meet that double-digit mark in 127 professional games is disappointing. Many players in the organization struggle getting power output, but Messina has an easier path than most to unlocking it. He is listed at 5-foot-11 (6-foot-1 on a good day), 230 lbs, there is natural power in that build. At the plate he hasn’t been as reckless as some predicted, meaning he has some aggressiveness to lean into to up the power metrics. Behind the plate, he profiles to be a solid defender, but that leap to the MLB is tough to predict for catchers. Messina is profiled as a true catcher in the system and projects to be a contributing player as soon as 2027. Written by Louis Taggart.
2025 Writeup
Messina was a collegiate titan, swatting 38 homers between 2023-24 for South Carolina and recording a 149 wRC+ in his junior pre-draft season. Not only was Messina an offensive juggernaut but he was the Gamecocks’ everyday catcher with solid acumen in each facet of catching.
Messina has been slow out of the gate with just a 95 wRC+ and only 6 homers in High-A Spokane, but he has managed to run a very respectable 11.3 BB% and 17.3 K%. If the power can return to Messina’s game, the Rockies will have a formidable catching prospect on their doorstep.
Player Links
MLB.com player page | Fangraphs | Baseball Savant | Baseball Reference
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