Rockies Designate Two Former First Round Picks for Assignment

Under a new regime, the Rockies begin to move forward as they attempt to rebuild.

Jun 17, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Colorado Rockies first baseman Michael Toglia (4) gestures to his bullpen while rounding the bases after hitting a two run home run against the Washington Nationals during the fourth inning at Nationals Park. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

This upcoming offseason is one of the most important for the Colorado Rockies in a long time. They've been one of the worst teams in the league since last making the playoffs in 2018 and have lost more than 100 games three seasons in a row. With a new front office coming in, it seems like a pivot point.

Colorado hired Paul DePodesta in order to turn the team's fortunes around without having to spend a ton of money. He is the 'Moneyball' guy, after all. But he'll need to focus on the internal roster building first. Luckily, the Rockies have a head start as they've been able to turn their farm system around pretty quickly with stars like Ethan Holliday and Charlie Condon.

Before either of those players makes an impact, DePodesta will have to look at the current roster and the players from the old regime to determine if they're going to be a part of the future. On the first busy day of the MLB offseason, the new executive did just that. The Rockies announced on Monday that they DFA'd two former first-rounders in Ryan Rolison and Michael Toglia.

Rolison Couldn’t’ Find His Footing While Toglia Fell From Grace

David Frerker-Imagn Images

Colorado took Rolison and Toglia in the first round of back-to-back drafts in 2018 and 2019. Both we college players who looked like they could move quickly through the system to help the Rockies continue to compete at that time.

That just did not happen for Rolison. The left-hander didn't make his debut until 2025, struggling throughout the minors. After a nice pro debut in 2018, posting a 1.86 ERA in nine games, Rolison didn't post a season long ERA under 4.40 until 2025.

His K/9 went down from 10.8 in college to 9.0 in the minors, losing part of what made him so good in the SEC. A starter his whole career, he was eventually made a reliever in 2024.

The 28-year-old threw 42.1 innings as a rookie this past season, but it did not go well. He posted a 7.02 ERA and walked 20 batters to just 25 strikeouts. He was unable to limit runners, posting a 1.772 WHIP. After six seasons in the minors and a bad debut, it seemed that it wasn't going to work for Rolison in Colorado. DePodesta recognized that, too.

Toglia, on the other hand, is a different story. He made his debut much quicker than Rolison, appearing in his first MLB action in 2022, but he struggled through his first two seasons and 76 games, posting a -1.5 bWAR.

In 2024, the first baseman took a massive leap forward. In 116 games, he hit 14 doubles, 25 home runs and drove in 55 on his way to a .767 OPS and 102 OPS+. Although those are fairly league-average numbers, they were up from a .507 OPS and 31 OPS+ the year prior.

With 2.2 bWAR, Toglia was the fourth-best Rockies position player in 2024. Second on the team in home runs, it looked like he had finally tapped into the power that would play so well at Coors Field. The strikeout rate was still high at 32.1 percent, but he boosted his walk rate from 6.6 to 11.8 percent.

Then, in 2025, it fell apart. His walk rate fell once again to 8.3 percent while his strikeout rate skyrocketed to 39.2 percent. His power had been zapped as his slugging percentage went down 100 points and he posted a career low -1.7 bWAR.

With the arrival of Warming Bernabel and Toglia having been sent down multiple times, the writing was on the wall. It was best for both sides to get a fresh start.

DePodesta is already making his mark on this roster by moving on from players of the previous regime. Now, he needs to prove he can build this into a winner while doing arguably the hardest job in the sport.

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