Louis Taggart | February 13, 2026 | @louiswontshutup

About a year ago, I set off on a journey of collecting every single Rockies team Topps card set. I, for some reason, really wanted to get into card collecting, whether that be inspiration from Grant Hankins showing off an Ezequiel Tovar card every day or just sheer boredom because of the Rockies’ results. After a couple of weeks, cards began to show up in the mail, and as I opened them, one stuck out like a sore thumb. It was a 1994 Doug Million Topps Draft Pick card. At first, I was super intrigued because Doug Million is one of the coolest names ever. As I flipped the card over, I saw he was drafted out of Sarasota High School, an area I know very well, having family who live in that area. This caught me by surprise. I think of myself as a Rockies fanatic, and I somehow didn’t know a player who was selected 7th overall from an area I know well. After looking up Doug Million, I became frustrated because this isn’t a story that should be uncovered through baseball cards. The Doug Million story should be remembered by every Rockies fan and told till the end of time. Now I venture off to tell his story.

A Dominant High School Career in Sarasota

Born in Fort Collins, Kentucky, the southpaw would make the move to Sarasota, Florida, and dominate the high school competition. During his junior season, he put himself on the map with an impressive 13-1 record with a 1.08 ERA. Despite these incredible numbers, he was overshadowed by 6’8 senior pitcher Matt Drews, who wasn’t as productive as Million, but still had scouts enamored. Matt Drews would go on to be drafted 13th overall in the 1993 MLB Draft by the Yankees. For Million, the season put him on the draft radar, and his senior season would be massive for his draft stock. 

In that senior season, he went 12-2 with a 1.21 ERA, leading his team to a State Championship. He showed elite strikeout stuff with 149 strikeouts in 87 innings. This success led to him being the Gatorade National Player of the Year and Baseball America High School Player of the Year. 

While Million’s talent was obvious, experts feared that his scholarship offer from the University of Miami could warrant him deciding to play college baseball instead. Another risk was from Millions asthmatic conditions, something that might not mix well in the cold and elevated Denver, Colorado. 

Why the Rockies Took Doug Million 7th Overall

The Rockies held the seventh pick in the draft, but this pick wasn’t like any other first-round pick. Since they opted to sign free agents Ellis Burks, Walt Weiss, and Howard Johnson, the Rockies had to forfeit their second, third, and fourth round picks. This meant that their first round pick was their only pick until pick 126 in the fifth round. This made this pick pivotal for the future direction of the franchise.

Coming into draft week, the board became clear. It was either pay $650,000 to sign a college prospect or go with the upside prep prospect, costing them north of $850,000.
The Rockies made the aggressive decision and decided to draft Doug Million with the seventh overall pick in the 1994 draft. With the risk of Million going to play in college, the Rockies didn’t have much leverage. This meant they had to pay $905,000 to get him to sign. A price seen as well worth it for a talent such as Million.

“We feel we got the best left-handed pitcher in the country, college or high school….We like his size, his makeup and he has a very live arm” – Former Rockies scouting director Pat Daugherty said.

The Rockies loved the youth Million would bring to the farm system. One Rockies staffer went as far as to say, “That kid looks younger than our bat boys”. 

Early Professional Success in the Rockies System

The Rockies wasted no time getting Million into action. On July 14, 1994, just one month after getting drafted, Doug Million would make his professional debut with the Low-A Bend Rockies. In four innings of shutout work, Million only allowed two hits and struck out 10. An incredible first impression for the organization. This performance encapsulated his 1994 season. He registered 10 starts with a 2.34 ERA and was showing his strikeout stuff.

After the season, co-owner of the Bend Rockies Jack Cain said “This kid is worth buying a ticket to watch him pitch….. Without any injuries, he’ll probably be in the big leagues in three years.”

In 1995, the Rockies would send Million to Salem to play for the High-A Avalanche. This season was one of adversity and struggles. In May, he went down with shoulder stiffness, which kept him out of the game for almost a month. Something like this has never happened to Million, who has always remained healthy up to this point in his career. When he got on the field, it was clear he was off and not being himself. He entered the middle of June with a 5.82 ERA. He was frustrated.

On June 20th, he finally got his first win of the season. It was clear where he was struggling. Million said after that win

“That’s hurt me a lot,” Million said of his control problem. “I was plagued by wildness in the first half. I need to get my control back.”

Despite the rough start to the season, Million toughed it out and improved his ERA to 4.62 by the end of the season. Not an impressive season, but the resilience and humility he showed during a tough time in his career were promising. It was made clear this season that Doug Million wasn’t going to stop until he was in the MLB.

BSB Top 50 Prospect List

This tough 1995 season meant Million was an afterthought in prospect circles. What was once a sure-fire Top 20 prospect has fallen out of the Top 50. He was Baseball America’s 69th-ranked prospect in 1996 after being ranked 19th a year prior. Million started off the season by being invited to spring training to make a start against big league competition.

In that start, he struggled to find the strike zone, walking five, throwing a wild pitch, and hitting a batter. After that one start, he was sent to minor league camp and was told he would start his season back in Salem. Back in Salem, he fared much better; after 17 starts of 2.53 ERA ball, the Rockies finally decided to send the 20-year-old to Double-A. Despite spending over a year and a half in High-A Salem, Million would finally see a promotion.

He would spend the rest of the season in Double-A, making 10 starts highlighted by an eight-strikeout performance that saw him pitch seven scoreless innings on August 8th. His 3.15 ERA was an improvement over the season prior, but he still showed control issues, having the same walk-to-strikeout rate in Double-A.

The 1997 season was pivotal for Million, who had fallen out of national prospect relevance and had very little hype among Rockies circles. Up to this point, his asthma didn’t seem to hinder his career. However, in the early practices before spring training of the 1997 season, it was reported that he could only complete half of the team’s one-mile run before having to stop.

It’s unclear how much Doug Million’s asthmatic condition affected how he pitched, but it’s impossible to gauge something like that with a competitor as fierce as he was. 

Doug Million’s Final Season and Tragic Passing

He started spring with the big league squad before being sent down to minor league camp a couple of weeks before opening day. He would start his campaign where he ended the last, in Double-A New Haven. This 10-game stint to begin his season would be his worst stretch of play as a baseball player. He posted a 9.23 ERA with nearly twice the number of walks as he had strikeouts. The Rockies saw this and demoted him to High-A Salem in late May. 

Back in High-A, he fared better than his Double-A time, but still posted numbers that were unlike himself. His 5.1 BB/9 was similar to his stellar High-A campaign, but he struggled with giving up the long ball, giving up 13 homers in just over 95 innings pitched. The Rockies saw that the usual stuff he possessed was seemingly gone this season, so they sent him down to the Instructional League in Arizona to get looked at more closely by the team.

Tragically, during that stint in Arizona, he suffered an asthma attack while playing an electronic trivia game in a restaurant. He would pass away just hours later. 

“Doug was a terrific young man who we had very high hopes for, and all of our heartfelt sorrow goes out to his family in Sarasota and teammates throughout the system,” Rockies GM Bob Gebhard said. – Tampa Bay Times

Why Doug Million’s Story Still Matters to Rockies Fans

Doug Millions’ story isn’t about baseball; it’s about living the days you are given with purpose and care. Life is deliberate and valuable, but can be taken away at any time. Leaving an everlasting memory on the people around you doesn’t come from being a good baseball player; it comes from being a good person. Despite not being with us anymore, the void left behind by his death continues to echo his story. 

Written by Louis Taggart.