Where Rockies hope to see young slugger improve in 2025

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona — Michael Toglia was one of the breakout players for the Colorado Rockies in 2024, taking over at first base and adding 25 home runs to the lineup in his first full season with the club.

Heading into 2025, manager Bud Black, however, has a major statistic circled where he wants to see better numbers from Toglia.

"The biggest improvement for me would be in the RBI department," Black said. "Look at every year, you look at the RBI leaders, those are good players. Freddie Freeman gets a hit with two outs and a man on second in the eighth inning and he knocks him in. That's where I hope Mike makes a little bit of a jump."

Make no mistake out it, Toglia made great strides in 2024, becoming just the second Colorado first baseman in franchise history (joining Andrés Galarraga) to have at least 25 home runs and 10 stolen bases in a season. He also became the ninth Rockie in history to have at least 25 home runs, 10 stolen bases and 50 walks in a season (the first since Trevor Story in 2019).

However, it's a shift in approach at the plate that Black is hoping to see more from Toglia and his teammates in 2025. Last season, Colorado’s .242 average, .304 on-base percentage and .704 OPS were all the lowest in franchise history, while their 1,617 strikeouts were the most in club history.

While Toglia did mash 25 homers, he had just 55 RBI on the campaign. He also posted a slash line of .218/.311/.456, showing an opportunity this season to boost the average and potentially the RBI count as well. 

An example of Toglia's homer-heavy campaign last season can be seen in one stretch from July 9-14 where he hit six home runs in a six-game span. With that, he became the 11th Colorado player to accomplish that feat and the first since Charlie Blackmon in 2016 to do it. However, he had no other hits during that streak, making him the first Colorado player to have six consecutive hits leave the park.

For Toglia to take the next step in Colorado, Black is hoping to see more than just homers in 2025. Improving on his .156 batting average with runners in scoring position from last season will be a key.

"With two outs, just get a single and knock in that run," Black said. "The ability to get a hit helps the batting average. That's my hope for him."

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.