Rockies Adjust Farm Rosters Starting with Former No. 1 Draft Toglia Heading To AA Hartford

Michael Toglia is considered the Rockies first baseman of the future.

And the future just got another step closer.

Toglia, a switch-hitter, has been promoted from High-A Spokane to AA Hartford. Toglia, whom the Rockies selected in the 35th round when he came out of high school in Gig Harbor, Wash., and in the first round after his junior year at UCLA, departs Spokane leading the High-A West in both home runs (17) and RBI (66).

Toglia has walked 42 times and struck out 91. He is hitting .234, a sizable jump from June 15 when he was hitting .188. In addition to raising his average 66 points since June 15, healso has hit eight of his 14 home runs and driven in 43 of his 66 RBI, since then. He was one of the Rockies representatives in the All-Star Futures Game, and hit a home run.

As well as a legitimate power bat, he excels defensive at first base. In discussing him, the name of Todd Helton frequently surfaces.

The promotion goes with the expectation that Toglia will be big-league ready by 2023 if not mid-2022.

In addition to the promotion of Toglia, the Rockies are moving first baseman Grant Lavigne, the Rockies sandwich pick in 2018, and shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, a Latin sign out of Venezuela, from Low-A Fresno to High-A Spokane. Tovar is leading the Fresno team with a .309 batting average, 11 home runs and 54 RBI.

They also are moving left-handed pitcher Will Tribucher, a 14th round draft in 2018 out of Michigan, and third bsseman Warming Bernabel, a product of their Latin scouting system, from the Arizona Complex League to Fresno. Tribucher is unscored upon in eight relief appearances, in which he has struck out 12 and allowed five hits. Bernabel is hitting .433 with 31 stolen bases