DENVER -- As the Rockies wrapped up this year's MLB Draft with their 40th selection on Wednesday evening, Colorado had accomplished several objectives, one of which the franchise had been pursuing for years.

The club's first-round selection, at No. 23 overall, was switch-hitting first baseman Michael Toglia out of UCLA. The Rockies had originally drafted him out of Gig Harbor (Wash.) High School in 2016, but he opted for college.

Colorado got its man, albeit three years later, making the 20-year-old the first collegiate position player the franchise has selected in the first round of the Draft since first baseman Todd Helton out of the University of Tennessee in 1995.

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"We knew he'd be young coming out of college, and his ability to switch-hit with power from both sides of the plate, and potential to be an impact player is what kept him on our radar," said Rockies vice president of scouting Bill Schmidt. "We were very happy he was there at No. 23."

Colorado made two other picks on Day 1 of the Draft, selecting University of Georgia third baseman Aaron Schunk in the second round (No. 62 overall) and right-handed pitcher Karl Kauffmann out of the University of Michigan in Competitive Balance Round B (77th overall).

The Rockies' Draft philosophy is to select the best player available on the board, and this year, that coincided with a lot of pitchers, a position at a premium for a ballclub that plays in the high altitude of Coors Field. Of the 40 selections Colorado made, 19 were pitchers, of which 17 were right-handers.

The Rockies took Jacob Wallace out of the University of Connecticut in the third round (No. 100 overall). The hard-throwing right-handed reliever follows in the footsteps of current Rockies reliever Scott Oberg, whom Colorado drafted out of UConn in 2012.

"We have a very good area scout, Mike Garlatti, who's been with the organization from Day 1," Schmidt said. "And Mike felt real strongly about him. We respect the program at Connecticut, and how kids are developed there. We think this guy has the ability to potentially someday follow in the footsteps of his fellow alum."

In the 20th round, Colorado chose outfielder Yorvis Torrealba out of the University of Tampa. The 21-year-old is the son of former Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba, who played for the club from 2006-09, and in his final Major League season in 2013.

There were players on the MLB Pipeline Top 200 Draft prospects list still available in the later rounds, and the Rockies snatched up two of them, taking right-hander Tyler Nesbitt (ranked No. 168) out of Labelle (Fla.) High School in the 32nd round, and catcher Hayden Dunhurst (No. 123) out of Pearl River (Miss.) High School in the 37th round.

Overall, the first 30 selections the Rockies made were collegiate players, and nine of their last 10 picks were players out of high school.

"Where we pick in the Draft, your asset allocation and the number of picks you have, it's not to say there weren't high school players that we liked, but everything was just kind of a byproduct of how everything kind of fell," Schmidt said.