Here's what Toglia learned from first look at Majors

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Michael Toglia’s biggest lesson from last year’s 31-game debut with the Rockies was that big league pitchers are, well, more like him than he imagined.

Yes, pitchers are better. Toglia’s numbers showed it -- hitting 30 homers in 114 games combined at Double-A Hartford and Triple-A Albuquerque, then batting .216 with 44 strikeouts (and two homers) in 120 plate appearances in the Majors. But pitchers weren’t infallible. And Toglia knew he missed chances to take advantage of hittable pitches.

“I remember leaving the season thinking, ‘I’ve got this. I belong here,’” said Toglia, 24, the Rockies’ first-round pick (23rd overall) in 2019 out of UCLA. “I was pleasantly surprised how many pitches were down the middle and how many off-speed were hanging up in the zone. There were pitches and mistakes to hit, but I was missing them.

“As you get up there and get to know them, you begin to humanize all these superstars that you’ve known since you were a kid. They went through the same process that you did. It gives you confidence that you belong.”

Toglia, who is highly regarded defensively at first base and has made quick progress in right field, went through struggles early last season at Double-A.

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Hartford manager Chris Denorfia, former Rockies hitting coordinator Darin Everson (now the Mets’ Double-A hitting coach), and front-office assistants Todd Helton and Clint Hurdle all played a hand in the adjustments that put Toglia on the path to the Majors. He finished with 149 strikeouts in 495 Minor League plate appearances, but the rate slowed in the weeks before his Major League debut.

Toglia’s mentors in the Minors alerted him to the issues that were affecting his timing. His study this offseason found inefficiencies that he addressed so he can “get my body on time to be ready for the fastball.”

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Now, Toglia must progress similarly at the highest level. How he progresses this spring will determine if he makes the Opening Day roster and grabs the playing time that should come with the spot. Being a switch-hitter could bring opportunity in a lineup that projects as heavily right-handed.

It all leads to his priority -- hitting pitches early in counts. In the Minors, the strikeouts were high but he walked 60 times and had a .341 on-base percentage. Toglia can avoid two-strike counts by putting early-count pitches in the strike zone into play.

“There’s a bat-to-ball skill that good hitters show,” manager Bud Black said. “They don’t swing and miss often. His bat-to-ball ability should improve with his own desire to make that happen. There’s an athlete in there. There’s a guy that can make adjustments. He’s a sharp kid that understands quickly.”