Toglia's development pays off with 20-homer season

DENVER -- Todd Helton’s scouting report on Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia was unvarnished.

When not carrying out the many fan-related duties that are hitting Helton in his first months as a Hall of Famer, he works with hitters in the Rockies’ system. That has been the case since he officially joined as a special assistant to the general manager in 2022. One of Helton’s first moves was to get to know Toglia, who plays his old position.

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“Defensively, he’s always going to be fine,” Helton said in a meeting with the media on Saturday, ahead of a ceremony to honor him before the Rockies’ 8-3 loss to San Diego at Coors Field. “When I first laid eyes on him, I had to tell him nothing about defense. For a big guy, he’s got the softest hands and he moves pretty good laterally.

“And last night, when I showed up and I looked at the scoreboard and it said .219, I was a little disappointed. Then I looked a little further into it, and I think he has 10 home runs on the road and nine at home, so there’s some growth. I think he will hit for average as he gets more comfortable, but he’s going to have to make some big-time adjustments to do that.”

Toglia showed Helton and a sellout crowd his big-time power with a two-run home run, his 20th of the year. Toglia not only leveled out his home/road homer split but added to his recent surge that would make Helton proud.

“Compared to .370, .219 does not look good, but it’s a different era -- nobody gets up there anymore,” said Toglia, who climbed to .221 on Saturday. “But since I’ve been back up, it’s been a lot higher than .219. … I think I’ll keep going and I’ll get to where I want to be in that department.”

In 63 games since being recalled from Triple-A Albuquerque on June 6, Toglia has a slash line of .245/.329/.527 and 16 home runs. His homer off Padres starter Dylan Cease on Saturday gave him a career-best 10-game hitting streak.

Toglia is batting .353 (12-for-34) during the streak. Most telling, he has four doubles, a triple and a home run.

When sent down on April 21, Toglia was batting .106 – but four of his five hits were home runs. Since his return, Toglia has found an approach that gives him power and average. He has always had strike-zone awareness. The .797 OPS in 78 Major League games this year suggests quick improvement.

“He’s a smart kid,” Helton said. “He works hard. I think he can make those adjustments.”

Oh, yeah, on Saturday, Toglia matched Helton’s club record of consecutive starts at first base, 52 games. To do so, Toglia wrested the job from Kris Bryant -- during the veteran’s spurts of availability between trips to the injured list (his current plight) because of back injuries.

Toglia struck out on a check-swing the first time up against Cease, but he worked a walk in the fifth and then went deep on a 3-1 fastball in the sixth.

“Honestly, my first at-bat felt like I gave him too much credit,” Toglia said. “He’s been pitching really well, so I pigeonholed myself into too much of a plan, believe it or not. After that I decided to do what I’ve been doing the last couple of weeks, and just try to stay aggressive.”

Toglia, 26, who came out of UCLA as a Rockies first-round MLB Draft pick (23rd overall) in 2019, this season made an Opening Day roster for the first time. He accepted the lengthy demotion to Triple-A and returned an improved player.

“All the numbers are better,” Rockies manager Bud Black said. “You maybe pick a little bit on his strikeout rate -- that’s still a little high, up above 30%. But the swings are more aggressive. We’re seeing better bat speed.”

There’s also information flow among the three lesser service-time players who top the Rockies’ home run list. Toglia and Brenton Doyle are tied at 20, and Ezequiel Tovar has 19. The trio share information on pitch tips or tendencies, Toglia said.

But the most valuable lesson is the home run isn’t everything, but it can show up when least expected.

“There are times you feel really good and you’re not hitting homers,” Toglia said. “Those are the times you take your hits, take your walk.

“Then the game will give you homers.”