The 2019 MLB Draft takes place June 3-5, with the Houston Astros selecting at the #32 position.

Mock drafts have been floating for weeks, now, with almost no duplication of the guesses of the name that will land at Houston’s slot come draft day.

MLB.com’s Jim Callis released an updated mock mid-May, and one of the two players he thinks could land in Houston’s lap is the power-producing, switch-hitting first baseman/outfielder from UCLA, Mike Toglia (pronounced TOE-lee-a).

Toglia comes in at #39 in MLB.com’s Top 100 Draft Prospects list, which means if the 31 teams selecting before Houston mind their manners, the huge Washingtonian could be in the Astros’ sights.

Michael Anthony Toglia

Michael, born in Phoenix, AZ on August 16, 1998, may remind many of current #3 Astros prospect Yordan Alvarez, who’s waiting his turn to be promoted to Houston with his sack full of big AAA numbers. Curiously, both players are 6’5″ first basemen/outfielders who bruise the scale at 225 pounds (sources vary widely on Toglia’s weight, ranging from 225 all the way down to 201; he looks thinner than the sturdy Alvarez, and muscle weight gain is a likely future goal for the young Bruin junior).

While Alvarez is strictly a left-handed bat, Toglia switch-hits, putting some in the mind of a Ken Singleton (6’4″, 213 lbs) or toward a more athletic Lance Berkman (6’1″, 220 lbs), comp-wise.

Toglia, though, has a plus glove at 1B, his favored position as a left-handed thrower. Alvarez has been well-documented as a defensive project at both left field and first base. Astros’ GM Jeff Luhnow has been quoted as projecting the current Round Rock Express star as a Minute Maid Park left fielder upon his arrival.

Toglia, 20, attended Washington state’s Gig Harbor High School and was selected by the Colorado Rockies as the 1,040th overall pick in the 35th round of the 2016 MLB Draft. Declining to sign, Toglia chose UCLA due to its “perfect blend of academics and athletics.”

Listing video and strategy games, brain teasers, skiing, and riddles as off-the-diamond faves, Toglia counts Los Angeles Angels’ perennial All-Star Mike Trout as an inspiration, as well as former MLB stars Derek Jeter and Bo Jackson.

Trouble Bruin for Pac-12 Pitchers

In 2018 for UCLA, Toglia hit .336 with 51 runs scored and a team-best 58 RBIs. In the season he put himself on MLB’s draft radar, Toglia also led the Bruins in doubles and walks, and was also top three in batting average, slugging, on-base percentage, runs scored, hits, home runs, and total bases. All that landed him as an All-Pac-12 selection, as the only Bruin to start and play in all 59 games.

“It’s definitely an honor,” Toglia told the Tacoma News Tribune shortly after being feted. “It’s a very prestigious conference. Any accolade is a big deal. That’s up there as one of my most proud accomplishments.

“I’d like to see some of those doubles turn into home runs,” Toglia, who had a .588 slugging percentage, added. “A lot of those went off the wall. But I love doubles, too.”

In trying to explain his explosive sophomore season, Toglia told the News Tribune, “I just went in with a lot more confidence this year,” he said, recalling 2018. “You’ve been there before, you know what to expect. You know you belong there. Freshman year, you’re fighting to belong. Sophomore year was totally different.”

This season for UCLA, Toglia’s 2019 has produced a .316 BA and a .617 slugging percentage, for a 1.007 OPS in his 53 games played. In 209 ABs, Toglia has collected 16 doubles, four triples, and 13 homers, with 53 RBIs. He walked 23 times against 55 strikeouts.

The Cape Cod League

In the summers of 2017 and 2018, Toglia headed east to use a wood bat in playing for the Cotuit Kettleers of the Cape Cod League.

In 2017, Toglia hit .248 with seven home runs, six doubles, 27 RBIs, and 19 runs scored for Cotuit. He logged a .457 slugging percentage and a .306 on-base percentage.

In 2018, he was named the Kettleers’ MVP, hitting .220 with eight home runs and 24 RBIs in 38 games, while batting .429 in the playoffs. After the Cape Cod season, he ranked as the No. 15 prospect in the Cape by Baseball America and the No. 9 position player prospect in the Cape by D1Baseball.

The Scouts Weigh In

Scouting grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 60 | Run: 45 | Arm: 55 | Field: 60 | Overall: 50

MLB.com calls Toglia “talented and a bit raw. Good success in two years of starting with the Bruins had him poised to be one of the better college bats to be considered in June, and while a slow start to [this] his junior season impacted his stock, he was getting hot as the spring wore on.

“Toglia is a solid athlete, especially given his 6-foot-5 frame that he’s still growing into. And as a kid from the Northwest, he’s still growing into the game. He’s shown huge raw power from both sides of the plate, with some scouts putting a 70 on his raw power, but there are some questions about his ability to make enough contact to tap into it consistently.

“He wasn’t comfortable in the box at the start of the season, but the streaky hitter was starting to put it together. Athletic enough to handle an outfield corner, he’s a plus defender at first who can save runs at the infield corner.

“He’s a rare college bat with projection, one who could be a run producer in the future if he can refine his approach.”

Perfect Game chimes in with this analysis, while throwing in another comp: “When he’s swinging the bat as well as he can, you see shades of the Mark Teixeira comp as a plus defender at first base with power hitting abilities from both sides of the plate.

“He’s a tall, angular athlete that gets great extension and the ability to drive the ball to all parts of the ballpark. He has played some corner outfield during his time at UCLA but could be a Gold Glove-caliber first baseman as a professional. A strong finish could lead to him being a day one selection in the 2019 MLB Draft as a patient, power-hitting, switch-hitting first baseman with a knack for making consistent, hard contact.”

Referring to the upcoming draft, Toglia recently waxed philosophical: “I just try to work hard, make the best case for myself as a player and as a person.”