The Rockies selected UCLA’s Michael Toglia with the No. 23 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft on Monday, the second straight season Colorado has picked up a first baseman in the first round.

Toglia, who was selected in the 35th round of the 2016 draft by Colorado before going on to play for the Bruins, is 6-foot-5 with raw power. The switch-hitter batted .319 with 16 homers and 60 RBIs for Bruins this season, and at 20-years-old, is one of the youngest college juniors in the country.

“As a high school kid out of the northwest who came in and competed right away for UCLA, we’ve seen the growth and maturity as a staff over the last three years,” scouting director Bill Schmidt said. “Not only has he had the physical development with his tools and his skills, but he’s developed the mental maturity too, and we thought that warranted him being selected where he was.”

The Gig Harbor, Washington, native is also athletic enough to man one of the corner outfield spots, and played in the prestigious Cape Cod League the past couple summers. He was an All-Pac-12 selection in 2018, a season in which he was the lone Bruin to start and play in all 59 games.

“(Defensive versatility) was definitely a part of the selection,” general manger Jeff Bridich said. “He’s a good athlete who moves very well for the size of human being he is. He’s really only played first base this year, and we’ll make some (defensive) determinations once his college season is over … But it’s nice he has some history in the outfield.”

A slow start to Toglia’s junior campaign led his draft stock to fall slightly, as MLB Pipeline labeled him a “streaky hitter” but also noted that he’s “rare college bat with projection” should his approach become a bit more refined. He progressed quickly up the hitting learning curve in his three seasons in Los Angeles, where he immediately made his presence felt in 2016 with Freshman All-American honors by Collegiate Baseball.

“He started switch-hitting at some point in his high school career, and there’s power from both sides of the plate,” Schmidt said. “That’s another thing that made him attractive to us, because he brings that (switch-hitting) power option, which is something we don’t have in our system yet.”

Toglia’s athletic build and strong arm (rated as high as 60 on an 80-grade scale) gives him plenty of upside with the glove, especially for a Colorado organization with a track record of developing defensive versatility. That — in combination with his potential to develop into a heart-of-the-order, switch-hitting bat — perhaps swayed Colorado in his favor over the number of other college bats they were seriously scouting.

Last year, Colorado took prep first baseman Grant Lavigne in the first round at No. 42 after selecting Ole Miss southpaw Ryan Rolison No. 22 overall. The approximate value of Colorado’s selection of Toglia this season is $2.93 million, per MLB Pipeline. Colorado hadn’t selected a first baseman with its first selection in the draft since Todd Helton in 1995.