The Seattle Mariners have made use of the waiver wire to start October, claiming 1B/OF Michael Toglia from the Cincinnati Reds. The 28 year old switch-hitter missed much of the 2026 season with a dislocated right shoulder suffered while making a diving catch. The preparation for the surgery revealed a torn labrum as well, which led to season-ending surgery after just 10 games in Ohio.
Toglia was well-regarded by many (this author included) out of Gig Harbor High School in 2016 and particularly again
after a strong career at UCLA. The Colorado Rockies made Toglia their first round pick in 2019, selecting him 23rd overall on the heels of a .307/.410/.573 line and top-notch glovework at the cold corner. A standout, 6’5 athlete, Toglia received some of the descriptors Evan White received as a prospect, noting his excellent athleticism was almost wasted at first base, anticipating at least nominal utilization in the outfield to expand his utility.
While that is what occurred in his progression through Colorado’s system, some of the similar issues White encountered arose as well. Toglia’s strikeout rates ballooned in pro ball, averaging around a 30% punchout rate despite clubbing prodigious home run totals before his big league debut in 2022. That debut was difficult for the then-23 year old, and he’s found little consistency subsequently. A .198/.275/.384 career line with 42 home runs in 1095 plate appearances is good for a .286 wOBA, troubling enough on its own. But Toglia’s home park his entire career has been Coors Field, save the 10 games mostly at home in Great American Ballpark with Cincinnati, meaning the most hitter-friendly parks in MLB have not been enough to foster quality numbers for him. The difficult nature of it is that Toglia’s 69 wRC+, combined with the challenging task of roaming the outfield of Coors and some poor ratings at first base to boot has meant Toglia’s fWAR of -3.5 ranks as worst in MLB since 2020.
So why the claim?
Toglia has a profile somewhat similar to fellow former Rockies OF/1B Nolan Jones, whom the M’s took on in the Luis Castillo trade with the White Sox. In a sense, both players have overlapping talents to Luke Raley and Lazaro Montes, both of whom have demonstrated more potent big league success thus far in their careers. Moreover, Toglia’s tools and adjustments after a midseason demotion in 2024 popped significantly, a season where his Baseball Savant profile looked exceptionally promising.
Toglia has immense raw power, and has shortened his swing in the past couple seasons to attempt to reflect that he does not need massive hacks to deliver ample damage. His swing length in the past two seasons has been in line with league average, while his bat speed and hard hit rates have been near the top of the league. Add that Toglia doesn’t chase excessively, and most of his strikeouts stem from that overswinging and a patient approach that boosts his strikeout rate in kind naturally, and there is a ton of Luke Raley to be seen from the left hand side, while a great deal of Mitch Garver from the right.
And yet, Toglia has been incapable of compiling all these characteristics into a capable big leaguer thus far. His best year, that alteration-including 2024, still topped out at a 99 wRC+ with 25 homers and 10 steals in 116 games and 458 plate appearances. Seattle can likely see the outline of a big leaguer still with Toglia, and few love to give a former top 100 prospect a look as much as Jerry Dipoto, but for the local kid to make good he’ll need to find a way to make much more in-zone contact in the bigs, no longer with the benefit of the sport’s best ballparks to bash.
