Toglia riding the roster bubble: “There is an athlete in there”
Spring training is all about potential. That’s especially true for the 2023 Rockies. And if there is a poster boy for possibility, it’s Michael Toglia.
There is so much to like: his glovework and instincts at first base, the power, and the fact that he’s a switch-hitter. Plus, the 6-foot- 5, 230-pound Toglia has the athleticism to play right field. But Toglia still has a lot to prove if he wants to break camp as a member of the Rockies. And right now, there is no chance he supplants C. J. Cron as Colorado’s starting first baseman. With three weeks remaining in spring training, Toglia is riding the roster bubble.
“There are a lot of things that he has to understand at the bigleague level,” manager Bud Black said recently. “He’s going through it right now. He’s going through that education.”
That Toglia has power is indisputable.
The UCLA product, drafted by the Rockies with the 23rd overall pick in 2019, began last season at Double-a Hartford and earned an August promotion to Triple-a Albuquerque. In 17 games with the Isotopes, Toglia hit .333 with a .413 on-base percentage and an eye-popping .758 slugging percentage. He hit seven home runs and seven doubles and drove in 17 runs.
But the majors, as Black continually preaches, is a different animal and tougher to tame. Bigleague pitchers adjust quickly to inexperienced hitters, finding ways to exploit flaws in their approaches.
Togila hit .275 (11-for- 40) with six doubles, two home runs and 11 strikeouts through his first 11 career games. But he hit .183 (13for-71) with two doubles, two triples and 33 strikeouts through his
final 20 games. He finished his big-league baptism with a 36.7% strikeout rate, far above the 22.4% league average.
It’s a small sample size, to be sure, but the Rockies want to make sure Toglia’s strikeouts don’t reach the level that plagued outfielder Sam Hilliard, whom the Rockies traded to Atlanta in November.
Toglia understands what he needs to do.
“I dove into that this offseason with some guys,” Toglia said. “We figured that most of those strikeouts came from me being late and missing a pitch early in the count, so my two-strike percentage was through the roof.
“I was getting behind in the count and everybody knows how difficult it is hitting with two strikes in the big leagues. So we worked on some barrel accuracy stuff and being on time. That will definitely cut down on the strikeouts because I know that my history has shown that when I’m hitting well, I tend to not strike out. I know that there is a plus hitter in there with the capability of putting the ball in play consistently.”
Through Monday, Toglia had played in nine Cactus League games, hitting .250 (5-for-20) with one double, no home runs, five walks and 10 strikeouts.
The Rockies remain hopeful Toglia will evolve into the best homegrown first baseman since Todd Helton, who’s become a mentor to Toglia. But Toglia’s got a lot of growing to do.
“I think for him, in the short term, on the defensive side, we are obviously impressed with his ability to play first base,” Black said. “It’s legit. He’s an above-average defender in the big leagues. In the outfield, I wouldn’t say it was a surprise, but we were impressed with his overall athleticism. He showed good routes, good breaks, good hands. Defensively, he’s in a good spot.”
Offensively, the jury is still out.
“Offensively, we are hoping for that adjustment,” Black said. “The stuff is better in the major leagues, and (Toglia’s) strikeout rate was a little high. It’s not going to get better in the big leagues, so we have to work on that.
“There is a contact component to ( Toglia’s progress). There is a put-theball-in-play component and there is a two- strike component.”
Black remains confident Toglia has the tools to succeed.
“There is an athlete in there and he can make adjustments,” Black said. “He’s a sharp kid and he understands, quickly, what he needs to do. Now he has to show it in competition.”