Biography
Michael Anthony Toglia (born August 16, 1998) is an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Toglia played three years of college baseball at UCLA. He was selected by the Rockies in the first round of the 2019 MLB draft. He played in their minor league system for three years before making his MLB debut in 2022.
Amateur career
Toglia attended Gig Harbor High School in Gig Harbor, Washington. As a senior in 2016, he hit .316 with four home runs and 21 RBIs along with pitching to a 1.00 ERA in 42 innings.
After his senior year, he was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in the 35th round of the 2016 Major League Baseball draft. However, he did not sign and instead chose to fulfill his commitment to attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to play college baseball for the UCLA Bruins.
During the summer, he played in the West Coast League (WCL) for the Wenatchee AppleSox and was named the league's most valuable player as well as to the All-WCL team after he batted .306 with seven home runs and 40 RBIs.
In 2017, as a freshman at UCLA, Toglia hit .261 with eight home runs and 33 RBIs in 56 games. He received All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention and was named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball. After the 2017 season, he played collegiate summer baseball in the Cape Cod Baseball League for the Cotuit Kettleers, where he batted .248 with six home runs and 25 RBIs in 37 games.
As a sophomore in 2018, Toglia started all 59 of UCLA's games, slashing .336/.449/.588 with 11 home runs and 58 RBIs, and was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team. Following that year, he returned to the Cape Cod League with the Kettleers, batting .220 with eight home runs and 24 RBIs in 38 games. Prior to the 2019 season, Toglia was named a preseason All-American by Collegiate Baseball.
He finished his junior year batting .314 with 17 home runs and 65 RBIs in 63 games. He was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team for the second consecutive year.
Professional career
Toglia was considered one of the top prospects for the 2019 Major League Baseball draft. He was re-selected by the Colorado Rockies with the 23rd overall pick, and signed for $2.7 million. After signing, he was assigned to the Boise Hawks of the Class A Short Season Northwest League with whom he spent all of his first professional season. Over 41 games, he slashed .248/.369/.483 (.852 OPS) with nine home runs and 26 RBIs.
Toglia did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
To begin the 2021 season, he was assigned to the Spokane Indians of the High-A West. In June, Toglia was selected to play in the All-Star Futures Game at Coors Field. After slashing .234/.333/.465 with 17 home runs, 66 RBI, and seven stolen bases over 74 games in Spokane, he was promoted to the Hartford Yard Goats of the Double-A Northeast on August 2. Over 41 games with Hartford, he slashed .217/.331/.406 with five home runs and 18 RBIs. He was selected to play in the Arizona Fall League for the Salt River Rafters after the season where he was named to the Fall Stars game.
He returned to Hartford to begin the 2022 season. Over 97 games with the Yard Goats, he slashed .234/.339/.466 with 23 homers. In early August, he was promoted to the Albuquerque Isotopes of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.
The Rockies selected Toglia's contract and promoted him to the major leagues on August 30, 2022. He made his MLB debut that night as the team’s starting first baseman against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park. Toglia went hitless over four at-bats in a 3-2 Rockies win. He collected his first MLB hit, a single off Kyle Wright of the Atlanta Braves, the next night before hitting his first MLB home run off Braves closer Kenley Jansen. Toglia appeared in 31 games for the Rockies before the 2022 season ended, slashing .216/.275/.378 (.653 OPS) with two home runs.
Toglia was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque to begin the 2023 season. He played 78 games with the Isotopes, slashing .256/.368/.474 (.082 OPS) with 16 home runs. That season, Toglia also appeared in 45 games for the Rockies where he slashed .163/.224/.284 with four home runs and one stolen base.
In 2024, Toglia made the Opening Day roster for the first time in his career. However, after slumping, he was sent down to play 30 games for the Albuquerque Isotopes, where he slashed .277/.363/.571 (.934 OPS) with nine home runs.
He spent the majority of the 2024 season with the Rockies, appearing in 116 games and slashing .218/.311/.456 (.767 OPS) with 25 home runs. On July 14, Togila became the first Rockies switch hitter to homer 3 times in a game; he did so in an 8–5 win over the New York Mets.