26. Cole Messina (86 points, 14 ballots)
Cole Messina is the only catcher we’ve got on this Purple Row Prospects list, so it’s a good thing the Rockies have All-Star Hunter Goodman manning the position right now. As a prospect, Messina combines
decent plate discipline with good power potential and leadership qualities behind the dish.
The 22-year-old 6’0”, 230-pound righty, who signed for a slot bonus of just over $1 million after getting picked 77th overall in 2024, came to the Rockies after two-straight successful years in the toughest conference in NCAA baseball at South Carolina. He wasn’t the only Messina selected in the 2024 draft — his brother Carson, a pitcher, was picked in the 12th round by the Toronto Blue Jays.
Mid-season 2025 Rank: NR
High Ballot: 17
Mode Ballot: 17, 23
Future Value: 35, third catcher
Contract Status: 2024 Third Round, University of South Carolina, Rule 5 Eligible After 2027, three options remaining
MLB ETA: 2027
After barely playing as a freshman in 2022, Messina was impressive in the college wood bat Northwoods summer league (.893 OPS). He came back to Columbia his sophomore year and took hold of the starting catcher job. In 2023 he had 17 HR among his 36 XBH in 285 PA with a .307/.428/.615 line for the Gamecocks to earn first team All-SEC honors. Though he had to settle for second team All-SEC in 2024, Messina’s .326/.465/.701 line with 21 HR in 286 PA was an improvement across the board offensively.
The Rockies assigned Messina to High-A Spokane, where he was 1.5 years younger than league average. There he formed a battery with Colorado’s 2023 third rounder (and HM PuRP) Jack Mahoney, who was also drafted from South Carolina. Messina had a mess of a debut season offensively, hitting just .140/.232/.220 with a homer and a double in 56 plate appearances, which is an anemic 33 wRC+.
In 2025, Messina was sent back to Spokane as a league average aged player. He had more success offensively a second time around, hitting .259/.358/.382 with seven homers among his 31 extra-base hits in 374 plate appearances while walking in 12% of PA, good for a near league average 96 wRC+. He caught 83 games, committing 11 errors with 12 passed balls while throwing out 39% of would-be base thieves. In the final week of the year, Messina moved up to Double-A Hartford for a three game cameo, adding two singles in ten plate appearances.
There isn’t a whole lot of recent video on Messina out there, so enjoy this game-tying ninth-inning homer in the 2024 NCAA regionals:
MLB.com ranks Messina 25th in the system as a 40 FV prospect (he was 100th overall on their draft board):
Messina is a strong right-handed hitter who put up those good power numbers despite struggling with his approach during his junior season. There was a lot more swing-and-miss overall compared to his 2023 campaign, with higher whiff rates against fastballs than previously, and he’s always had a hard time with softer stuff. There’s plenty of power for him to tap into, especially to the pull side, and he may always have a power-over-hit approach with some walks thrown in.
With a take-charge attitude behind the plate, Messina has the right mentality to catch at the next level. He’s a solid receiver with an average arm and shows enough agility to block well even though he’s not fleet afoot.
Keith Law of the Athletic ranked Messina 19th in the system last February:
Colorado’s third-round pick in 2024 has plus power and a big body already, so catching is going to require some body maintenance going forward. I don’t love the setup at the plate, as his hands are high and his bat is behind his body, so his path to the ball is longer and uses up too much time; he could benefit from dropping his hands the way Condon and Thomas did in their draft years. His defense behind the plate is already fringy, and if he gets any bigger he’ll have to move to first.
Baseball Prospectus listed Messina as a “person of interest” last January:
A bat-first college catcher who mashed for the Gamecocks the last two seasons, Messina made some defensive improvements last season, but the setup and swing is very reminiscent of Kevin Parada’s and Messina has struggled against non-fastballs at times. His poor post-draft showing in the Northwest League didn’t assuage the offensive concerns, but as third-round college catchers go, he was a reasonable pick.
Messina was listed as a prospect of note by Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs last January:
Messina got a shade over $1 million as Colorado’s third rounder in 2024. He has above-average power, but I was bearish on his hit tool and defensive fit prior to the draft, and Messina didn’t do anything in pro ball to dissuade me from that notion.
First of all, if this isn’t Messina’s MLB walk-up song, I’m going to be disappointed. Messina has a path to a big league role ahead of him given the dearth of catching prospects in the upper minors for the Rockies (though I prefer Bryant Betancourt).
Messina could be a strong offensive player given his plate discipline and power potential, though because he hasn’t gotten that power into games it won’t work as a profile if Messina can’t stay behind the plate. The scouts seem to think the work ethic is there to do it though and the other intangibles are lauded as well. I’m not yet a believer and he wasn’t particularly close to making my list as a 35 FV player. If Messina can hit well against Double-A pitching in 2026, I’ll re-evaluate.
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