Yard Goats slugger Michael Toglia settling in, finding his power stroke and waiting for that call from Colorado
The Rockies have been looking for a slugging, slick-fielding first baseman since Todd Helton retired.
The Yard Goats’ Michael Toglia is on a power trip that could soon land him in Helton’s old spot, and Helton himself has been helping him get there. They spent time in spring training, and Helton’s week in Hartford as a roving instructor in May has had an obvious impact.
“He’s helped tremendously,” Toglia said before the Yard Goats’ game vs. Portland at Dunkin’ Donuts Park on Tuesday. “It was only a week, but I would have loved to have had as much time with him as I can. He helped me on both sides of the ball. We talked a ton about approach, about fielding positions, glove positions, footwork and timing. He helped me in every facet of the game.”
Helton hit .316 with 2,519 hits, 369 homers across 17 major-league seasons in Colorado and has been gaining support on the Hall of Fame ballot. He rejoined the Rockies’ organization this year with Toglia, a first-round pick in 2019, one of his primary projects. He was in Hartford May 10-17.
“He still needs to work on his lower half, getting his feet in tune with his upper body,” Helton told the Denver Post. “But other than that he can really field the baseball. He works hard at it. He can use a little home plate work, but there’s really nothing big he needs to work on defensively.”
Toglia, 23, a switch hitter who played at UCLA, played in the All-Star Futures Game as a Class A prospect, and hit .217 with five homers after a late-season promotion to Hartford in 2021. He began this season slowly with two homers in April, four in the first 30 games.
After his work with Helton in May, Toglia has hit 15 home runs, six in June and five so far in July, including four in a three-game span wrapping around the All-Star Break. He began play Tuesday with 19 home runs, three away from the franchise record set last season by current major-leaguer Elehuris Montero.
Helton urged Toglia, 6 feet 5 and 226 pounds, to keep his weight back and hit the outside fastball to the opposite field gap. He has been showing power to all fields during his recent surge.
“The biggest thing was staying to the off-gap, which didn’t click with me right away,” Toglia said. “Over the last month or two I feel like I’m really able to understand what he meant and execute it.”
Some of Toglia’s blasts have cleared all the signage in right field at Dunkin’ Donuts Park and one reached the Hartford Healthcare sign above the upper deck in right-center. He homered from both sides of the plate at Bowie on May 22. Those long homers may be shortening the time and distance between here and Denver.
“You’re really just a phone call away at this level,” Toglia said. “Everything you see on TV, you see in some form in this league. You see 102 MPH velo[city], you see nasty sliders. And we see guys that have it all together at the same time. If you can succeed here you’ve got a great shot for the big leagues.”
In Year Two at Double A Toglia has been more aggressive earlier in counts, not falling behind. “It’s pretty hard to do damage down 1-2, 0-2 all the time,” he said. “Not missing fastballs early, I think that’s why the last few weeks there has been a spike in power numbers.”
Some of the pitchers the Goats have faced, like Portland’s Brayan Bello, have been called up to the majors. And they have seen bona fide major leaguers on rehab assignments, such as the Mets’ Max Scherzer in late June; Toglia got a single and walk against him. That was worth calling home to Gig Harbor, Wash.
“Parents, girlfriend, friends that are baseball rats that we grew up playing Wiffle ball,” Toglia said. “They can’t believe their friend is facing Max Scherzer, one of the best in the game. It’s always fun seeing their reactions, because to them, these superstars are idolized, on a pedestal above everybody. ... Some guys fly through the minor leagues, but we all develop at our own pace and we get to the big leagues when it’s time.”
Dom Amore can be reached at damore@courant.com
