It’s a long way from Yazoo County to Colorado.
The distance from pitching for a small school like Benton Academy to the MLB draft is even greater. It’s a road that can only be traveled with some God-given talent and countless hours of hard work.
JB Middleton completed that journey this week as he was drafted by the Colorado Rockies with the 45th overall pick after an outstanding junior season at the University of Southern Mississippi.
This season Middleton helped lead the Golden Eagles to a deep postseason run. The junior was 10-1 with a 2.31 ERA and pitched over 105 innings in 16 games, striking out 122 batters while only walking 25. He finished No. 2 in the final rankings in WHIP (0.85), fifth in hits allowed per nine innings (5.55), seventh in strikeouts, ninth in ERA and No. 11 in wins.
Middleton was named an All American and earned the Ferriss Trophy, which is awarded to Mississippi’s top baseball player. His fastball averages in the mid-90s.
Middleton, the son of Byron and Kelly Middleton, earned an opportunity to play at Southern Miss after a successful high school career at Benton Academy.
In addition to being an All-Star pitcher for the Raiders, Middleton was a talented quarterback for the football team, a top performer in basketball and even earned a state title in the long jump on the track team.
He graduated from BA in 2022 and saw limited time in his freshman season at Southern Miss.
As a sophomore Middleton appeared in 24 games, mostly as a relief pitcher. He finished the 2024 season with a 2-1 record and 44 strikeouts.
Marc Gustafson, director of scouting for the Rockies, said in an interview after the draft that he sees Middleton as part of the team’s future pitching rotation.
“This is a guy that pitched a lot of innings, he went deep into games, and he helped his team to postseason play,” Gustafson said.
Many Yazooans were watching the MLB draft coverage this week as Middleton was expected to be drafted, and it looks like there are about to be a whole lot of new Colorado Rockies fans in this area.
(Photo Credit USM Athletics)
