May 2, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Colorado Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia (4) reacts after striking out against the San Francisco Giants during the fifth inning at Oracle Park Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

This Adds Insult to Injury for Struggling Rockies Youngster Michael Toglia

Originally posted on Colorado Rockies on SI
By Brad Wakai | Last updated Aug 23, 2025 9:00 PM ET

The Colorado Rockies are at the stage of their rebuild where they are looking for anyone who can make an impact on their roster going forward.

That has caused them to promote starting pitcher McCade Brown for his MLB debut all the way up from Double-A before he even pitched in a game at the Triple-A level, a decision that opens them up to criticism if things go awry.

Other top prospects have made their way to the bigs this year, too, and for the most part, they have had success, with the trio of Warming Bernabel, Ryan Ritter and Kyle Karros being key parts of this recent surge put together by the Rockies.

However, one former top guy has not had a good year, with Michael Toglia getting demoted to Triple-A Albuquerque on Aug. 3 for the second time this season due to his struggles at the plate and in the field.

Michael Toglia Named Worst Defensive First Baseman

Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

The 23rd overall pick of the 2019 draft has long been considered a future cornerstone for Colorado, and because of that, the organization has been patient with his development on the farm and when they have called him up to the majors.

But it feels like they could be at their breaking point with the 27-year-old. And a lot of that has to do with his continued struggles with the bat in his hands while also putting in a performance at first base that has Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report calling him the worst defensive player at his position.

"Toglia ranked second among first basemen with an impressive 10 DRS a year ago, but drew less favorable marks in OAA (-4) and FRV (-3). This season, the metrics have been ugly across the board, and with bottom-of-the-scale athleticism his range is extremely limited," he wrote.

Across 705 innings this season, Toglia has been worth minus-three defensive runs saved, minus-10 outs above average and has a minus-seven fielding run value. All of that lines up with why his defense is viewed so poorly and why the Rockies sent him back down to the minors.

Toglia's Murky Future With Rockies

Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

It would be one thing if he had poor defensive numbers while producing at the plate. But that has not been the case for him, either, slashing just .194/.261/.361 for an OPS+ that's 35 points below the league average of 100.

Strikeouts continue to be an issue, and if he can't figure that out -- a career K rate of 34.7% that's well above the league average mark of 22.4% -- then it's hard to envision a world where he is playing meaningful baseball in the majors.

The arrival of Bernabel also signals that there is a shelf life on the tenure of Toglia with Colorado, so unless he completely turns things around at Triple-A and when he gets his next opportunity in the MLB, then there's a chance a parting of ways could occur at some point.