Michael Toglia entered this season as one of the top breakout candidates for the Colorado Rockies. Toglia was one of the team’s hitters last season. He began the season in a brutal stretch, but after a stint in the minors, he was a consistent power producer for Colorado. Despite playing in only 116 games, Toglia hit 25 home runs, which was good for second on the Rockies. It appeared the club had finally found their first baseman of the future. However, Michael Toglia is slumping to begin the season on a struggling Rockies’ offense.
Michael Toglia Slumping to Begin 2025
Toglia is not alone in his struggles. The Rockies have had one of the worst offenses in the league this season. It got so bad that the Rockies fired hitting coach Hensley “Bam Bam” Meulens on Thursday, replacing him with former Rockies manager Clint Hurdle. But Toglia has been one of the biggest disappointments on this Rockies offense. His momentum to end last season has not carried over.
Over 72 plate appearances, Toglia is hitting .176/.208/.265 with a whopping 35 strikeouts to just two walks. The Rockies have an MLB-worst 224 strikeouts. Toglia leads the Rockies in that category, just ahead of veteran third baseman Ryan McMahon’s 31. No other Rockie has more than 17. Toglia has five RBI in the last two games, including a grand slam against the Los Angeles Dodgers, his first home run of the year. But he also has struck out six times in the last two games, the issue that has plagued Toglia the most.
Power Issues and High Strikeouts Haunt Toglia
Meulens emphasized that the Rockies’ strikeout problem wouldn’t be as much of an issue if the Rockies were producing in the power department. That approach was working in the second half of last season. The Rockies were consistently hitting home runs both at home and on the road. But it becomes a glaring issue when it’s a lot of strikeouts and no home runs. One of the main reasons Meulens was let go. Combined with having the most strikeouts, the Rockies are 28th in MLB with only 15 home runs, a recipe for disaster offensively.
Per Statcast, Toglia is striking out at a 48.6% rate, good for the bottom one percent in the league. His 2.8% BB rate is in the bottom 8% of the league. Toglia has shown that he will never be a hitter for average. But he can be effective for the Rockies as a power hitter. When the power disappears, Toglia leaves a void in the lineup. Per Statcast, he has squared up baseballs just 18.3% of the time, is chasing 32.7% of the time, and is whiffing 42.8% of the time.
Michael Toglia has now upped his strikeout rate to 48.6%
He is on pace to strike out over 300 times this season.
The MLB record is 223.— Luke Hall (@OakTreeStatus) April 19, 2025
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Toglia is still a solid defender at first base for the Rockies. In 18 games at first this season, Toglia has a 1.000 fielding percentage. However, the Rockies are not worried about Toglia’s defense. It appeared last season that they had finally found their long-term answer at first base. The Rockies need Toglia to be one of the top power hitters in their lineup, especially when they are playing at Coors Field. Their lineup is nowhere near deep enough to withstand one of their regulars being a non-factor.
Outlook Going Forward
This is not dissimilar to Michael Toglia’s slumping to start last season. However, after a stint in the minors, he looked like he had finally found his groove in the majors. This was supposed to be when he was breaking out for the Rockies offense, not reverting to his early-season form from last year. But perhaps like last season, Toglia will gain steam as the season goes on. With no first base prospects in the Rockies’ top 30, Toglia should have plenty of runway to work through his struggles.
The Rockies are currently dead last in the National League at 3-17, and saw last season what Toglia can do if he can find his power. Toglia will also now have a chance to work with Hurdle to turn his offensive game around. It is not just Toglia who has struggled. Outside of Brenton Doyle, the Rockies have largely been atrocious when it comes to run production. But in another rebuilding season that will be focused on development, the time is now for Toglia to firmly stamp his place as the Rockies’ first baseman for years to come.
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