UCLA Alum Continued Climb to Potential in Colorado

UCLA alum Michael Toglia had the best season of his young career for the Colorado Rockies in 2024, and the sky is only the limit for the young first baseman.

Sep 6, 2024; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Colorado Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia (4) hits a three-run home run in the sixth inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

The 2024 MLB season was one for UCLA alum Michael Toglia to remember. We got a glimpse of what this young slugger's future in Colorado could hold.

Toglia played for UCLA Bruins from 2017 to 2019 and was a promising young star for head coaches at UCLA, but ran into some trouble in his first two seasons with the Rockies in Colorado.

During his time at UCLA, Toglia finished his collegiate career with a .307 batting average, 36 home runs, 156 RBIs, 51 doubles, six triples, 111 walks, and scored 134 runs, all in 178 games with the Bruins. He was also the first UCLA first-round draft pick as a position player since Chase Utley in 2000.

After first breaking into the league for the Rockies in 2022, Toglia's young impression was easily seen in his first year with the squad. Toglia played in 31 games and had a .216 batting average, two home runs, and 12 RBIs. His 2022 wins above replacement (WAR) was not terrific, finishing with -0.1.

In 2023, Toglia saw a little bit more playing time, increasing his 2022 total by 14 games, but took significant steps backward. Toglia only hit four home runs and had a batting average of .161, a considerable step backward from what the organization wanted to see. Luckily for Toglia, he made sure 2024 was his year.

Toglia's breakout year as the young Rockies First Baseman star is just the beginning. Toglia finished his 2024 campaign with a .225 batting average and career highs in home runs with 25, RBIs with 55, and a WAR of 2.2. Going into 2025, Toglia will only look to further add to his resume and play more than 116 games, which was the amount he played in 2024.

Toglia himself knows that this young Rockies team may be one to watch for the upcoming season given the amount of talent they possess. 

"I belong here," Toglia said in an interview with CBS Colorado back in August. "When you first come up, you want to prove yourself and show to others that you belong, and I feel this year I did that. We got a lot of good talent coming."

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