Carson Messina

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Toronto Blue Jays #21 prospect in 2025
  BA Grade/Risk: 50/Extreme.
  
  Track Record: The younger brother of Rockies 2024 third-round pick catcher Cole Messina, Carson is the pitcher of the family battery. Messina was committed to South Carolina and played on the same high school team as Marlins first-round pick PJ Morlando. The Blue Jays drafted Messina in the 12th round and signed him for $550,000. Messina is likely to debut in the Florida Complex League in 2025.
  
  Scouting Report: Messina is a stocky righthander with present physical strength and average athleticism. He works from a modified stretch, slinging the ball from a three-quarters arm slot with a drop-and-drive delivery that lowers his release of the ball. He mixes a fastball with heavy armside run at 93-94 mph, with a mid-80s slider with sweep and late bite. His slider earned double-plus grades as an amateur and looks to be his best pitch entering pro ball thanks to the ugly swings it elicits. Messina’s low-80s changeup is a below-average pitch that he shows in flashes. His ability to miss bats with his fastball-slider combination gives Messina a foundation on which to build. His command is fringy at present, with out of sync mechanics that can often spin Messina off his landing spot. He’ll need to improve his strike-throwing and feel for his changeup if he’s going to develop into a back-of-the-rotation starter.
  
  The Future: As an interesting righthander with excellent feel for spin and some power behind his pitches, Messina has a wide range of outcomes. The Blue Jays will develop him as a starter.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 70 | Changeup: 45 | Control: .

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #134 prospect in 2024 draft
  School: Summerville (S.C.) HS Commit/Drafted: South Carolina
  Age At Draft: 18.3
  BA Grade: 50/Extreme
  Tools: Fastball: 55. Slider: 70. Changeup: 45. Control: 40.
  
  Messina is a 6-foot-3, 225-pound righthander who has a lively fastball and one of the better breaking balls in the class. He pitches in the 91-94 mph range with his fastball and has been up to 96. The pitch has tons of armside running life that makes it even more difficult to barrel up. He complements it with a mid-80s tight slider with sharp and hard biting action that has earned 70-grade future projections. He gets lots of ugly swings between his fastball/slider combination and has also flashed a low-80s changeup that looks like a fringy, but solid third pitch. Messina will need to tighten his control and streamline his delivery to increase his chances to start long term, but his fastball/slider combination is among the loudest in the class. Messina is committed to South Carolina and plays on the same high school team as potential day one pick PJ Morlando. He is the younger brother of current South Carolina catcher and 2024 prospect Cole Messina.

Top 100 Rankings

• Ranked Baseball America's #46 prospect in 2024

• 2024 High School Top 100 Draft Prospects
  School: Summerville (S.C.) HS Committed: South Carolina
  Age At Draft: 18.3
  Messina is a 6-foot-3, 225-pound righthander who has a lively fastball and one of the better breaking balls in the class. He pitches in the 91-94 mph range with his fastball and has been up to 96. The pitch has tons of arm-side running life that makes it even more difficult to barrel up and he complements it with a mid-80s tight slider with sharp and hard biting action that has earned 70-grade future projections. He gets lots of ugly swings between his fastball/slider combination and has also flashed a low-80s changeup that looks like a fringy, but solid third pitch. Messina will need to tighten his control and streamline his delivery to increase his chances to start long term, but his fastball/slider combination is among the loudest in the class. He is committed to South Carolina and plays on the same high school team as potential first round pick PJ Morlando.