How this Rockies rookie got hot at the plate

This story was excerpted from Thomas Harding’s Rockies Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

DENVER -- Rockies switch-hitting rookie Michael Toglia has traded a discerning eye for an aggressive mindset.

During his earlier 10-game Major League trial, May 15-25, he let too many hittable pitches go by early in counts and batted .174 with nine strikeouts and two walks in 25 plate appearances.

After being optioned back to Albuquerque, Toglia, 24, decided to enter the batter’s box ready to swing. In 25 games before being recalled last week, Toglia batted .280 with eight home runs, four doubles and 28 RBIs.

And swinging hard and mean accomplished what swinging judiciously did not. Toglia, the Rockies’ first-round Draft pick in 2019, has always aimed to provide power and on-base percentage. During his hot streak, he walked a whopping 23 times.

How his plan will work in the Majors will be determined in time. But Sunday’s left-handed, opposite-field solo homer in the second inning off Yankees star Gerrit Cole was a key swing in the Rockies’ 8-7, 11-inning victory at Coors Field.

In the 11th with the score tied, his right-handed shot against reliever Nick Ramirez was caught at the wall in right field.

Those swings were good starts. Toglia just might find that by exacting a penalty for throwing him pitches in the strike zone, he can force pitchers to throw outside the zone.

“Honestly, I tried to be really aggressive,” Toglia said of his new Triple-A approach. “Given my natural ability to spit on pitches and not chase, I still drew a bunch of walks and was making good contact. My hard contact rate went up, and pitchers started getting extra-fine with their pitches.

“It felt like I scared them out of the strike zone. I was doing damage and they were scared to leave me something to hit, and I was walking.”

It’s an approach that Toglia might have to maintain through less-than-regular playing time. Toglia plays first base and the outfield corners, but (unless there are trades) the Rockies have veterans at his various positions.

Under the current roster structure, Toglia is serving a similar role to the one Elehuris Montero held going into the All-Star break. Montero, a first baseman, made strides defensively but couldn’t find offensive consistency and was sent down to Albuquerque when Toglia was promoted.

Toglia started on Sunday and did not have to worry about Cole being scared to throw him a pitch in the zone. Cole struck out 11, including Toglia in his second at-bat. But Toglia showed he is willing to be aggressive against a pitcher who is the same way.

“Cole is a Cy Young winner and a big leaguer, but I’m a big leaguer, too,” Toglia said.