Rockies demote MLB's strikeout leader in shocking roster move

The Colorado Rockies demoting Michael Toglia might not be shocking on paper since he leads the majors with 81 strikeouts on the season. He has fanned 81 times in 207 plate appearances, rocking a putrid 39.1 percent strikeout rate. The fact that Toglia, a player who looked like a potential building block for this team last season, was demoted for Keston Hiura, a journeyman without a long-term future in Colorado when the team is just 9-48 on the year, is shocking.

I get where the Rockies are coming from with this move. Eventually, the strikeouts get to a point where he's just unplayable. He's struck out two or more times in 28 games already this season, which is insane since he has only 54 appearances overall. He has nine games with three or more strikeouts - that's one-sixth of his appearances!

Still, again, demoting a guy who showed as much promise as Toglia did last season when the team has nothing to play for right now is a surprise.

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Rockies send Michael Toglia stern message with demotion

By sending him down, the Rockies are making it clear that the strikeouts are simply unacceptable. He's striking out more than anybody, and his numbers reflect that. He's slashed .194/.266/.349 this season with six home runs and 20 RBI. He simply hasn't been productive enough to warrant keeping at the MLB level with those strikeout woes.

Now, the Rockies are going to hope he'll show signs of improvement in Triple-A. Toglia should mash Triple-A pitching, but he also should be able to put the ball into play more. Perhaps a couple of tweaks can improve his contact slightly, which would do wonders for his development.

Toglia has high potential, and the Rockies have seen that firsthand at the MLB level. Last season, he had a .767 OPS and launched 25 home runs in 116 games played. Say what you want about Coors Field, but Toglia hit nine more home runs on the road (17) than he did at home (8) despite the switch-hitter only receiving two more plate appearances away from home. He has absurd power, it's just on him to display it more by making more contact.

What makes this move especially frustrating for Rockies fans, though, was Toglia's replacement.

Rockies pass on obvious Michael Toglia backup plan

Keston Hiura was at one point seen as a budding star for the Milwaukee Brewers, but after a monster rookie year, he never quite hit enough to stick at the MLB level. His downfall offensively, ironically enough, has been the strikeouts. His 36 percent strikeout rate is actually higher than Toglia's career mark of 34.4 percent.

To put it simply, Hiura is not part of Colorado's future plans at all. Promoting him instead of promoting a guy like Ryan Ritter, who has been one of the best hitters at the Triple-A level this season makes no sense. Ritter is a 24-year-old who has actual upside and has never gotten a chance in the majors. This was a golden opportunity to give him a look.

If Ritter wasn't an option, the Rockies could've simply stuck with Toglia, a player who had success as recently as last season. Yes, this season has been a disaster, and I get demoting him, but a 9-48 team should not be promoting a 28-year-old who has proven on several occasions that he isn't a big leaguer. Decisions like these are why the Rockies are the Rockies.