With the 45th overall pick in the second round of the 2025 MLB Draft, the Colorado Rockies have selected right-handed pitcher Jonathan Bailey “JB” Middleton from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Middleton was a first-team All American for his 2025 season with the Golden Eagles, posting a 2.31 ERA over 16 starts and 105 1⁄3 innings as a third-year junior. He struck out 122 batters to just 25 walks. It was his first full season as a starter after coming out of the bullpen his previous two seasons.

Middleton’s primary pitch is a lively four-seam fastball that averages in the mid-90s and currently tops out at 97 MPH. Graded a 60 on MLB Pipeline, the pitch can either rise or sink depending on how he throws it, and he’s used the pitch to generate a lot of swings and misses throughout his collegiate career.

The 21-year-old also throws a high-90s slider and a mid-to-high 80s changeup as two well-developed breaking pitches. He commands the strike zone well with a consistent delivery and issued the same number of walks this season as he did last year while throwing almost three times as many innings. He also held the second-best WHIP in college baseball at 0.85 with the sixth most strikeouts.

Middleton was both a Golden Spikes Award and Dick Howser Trophy semi-finalist while taking home All-Sun Belt honors. MLB Pipeline ranked him as their no. 41 prospect heading into the draft.

With his selection by the Rockies, Middleton becomes the highest-selected pitcher from his school.

After Day 1 of the draft had ended, Senior Director of Scouting Operations Marc Gustafson and Vice President and Assistant General Manager of Scouting Danny Montgomery took questions from media about what Middleton brings to the Rockies.

They see him as part of a future Rockies rotation, and they like what he brings as a pitcher and as a competitor.

As Gustafson put it, “The metrics (of his pitch mix) are elite. The competitiveness is elite — the repertoire with the athleticism and his durability. This is a guy that pitched a lot of innings, he went deep into games, and he helped his team to postseason play. And if it weren’t for JB, I think it’s a different ball club.”

Montgomery compared Middleton to Tim Hudson, and described Middleton’s slider as “a wipeout.”

He added, “(Middleton) was really, really a good pitch for us in that round, I think.”