July 2nd, 2016 at 6:00 am 
by Harold Uhlman During the past three days several announcements have been made by the Dodgers.
On June 28th it was announced that Dodgers second baseman Willie Calhoun and right-hand pitcher Jharel Cotton have been selected to represent the organization in the 2016 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game, which will be played at 4 p.m. PT on Sunday, July 10 at Petco Park in San Diego.
On June 30th it was announced that infielder Rob Segedin has been selected to represent the team in the Pacific Coast League All-Star game to be played on July 13th at BB&T Ballpark in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The 27-year old Segedin leads the OKC Dodgers in most offensive categories this season including 77 hits, 16 doubles, 13 home runs,45 RBI and 46 runs scored. His 36 extra-base hits rank fourth in the Pacific Coast League and he is tied for the league lead with seven triples as well as ranking fifth in the PCL total bases rank fifth in the PCL.
The OKC Dodgers have gone all out to put a good product on the field as well as a fan friendly one. The team announced – on June 30th – it will install a state-of-the art center field digital video board at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark beginning on July 11 with a completion date of mid-August. The new high definition screen, designed by Daktronics, will be 32 feet tall and 56 feet wide with a screen area of 1,600 square feet, placing it among the top 10 largest in any Minor League Baseball stadium, as well as the fifth-largest in Triple-A baseball.
The third development for the Dodgers on June 30th was that outfielder Andrew Toles would start in right field after being promoted from the Tulsa Drillers of the AA Texas League.
Andrew Toles
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
The 24-year old Toles had begun his 2016 season with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the A+ California League before earning a promotion to the Drillers after 22 games with the Quakes in which he hit a very solid .370 with an OBP of .414.
Toles made an immediate impression with the Drillers as he homered to right field in his very first at bat in the Texas League. He continued to impress and on June 20th he was named the Texas League Player of the Week. In six games during that week he posted a triple slash of .481/.533/.778 going 13-for-27 with two doubles, two triples, five runs batted in and seven runs scored.
On the season in 43 games with the Drillers, Toles hit .314 with an OBP of .363 along with 14 doubles, 3 triples, five home runs, 22 runs batted in and 13 stolen bases.
Toles had initially been drafted by Andrew Friedman – now Dodgers President of Baseball Operations – and the Tampa Bay Rays in the third round of the 2012 First Year Player Draft out of Chipola Junior College. After three years in the Rays system he was released and sat out the 2015 season.
The 5’10” – 185-pound outfielder – who bats left and throws right- was given a second chance by the same Andrew Friedman who signed him as a minor league free agent on September 23, 2015. More specifically it was a call from Gabe Kapler, Dodgers Director of Player Development, inviting him to Arizona for a tryout that changed his life. Toles cited to OKC Dodgers play-by-play announcer Alex Freedman that he was on the very first plane he could catch to Phoenix.
Toles has taken full advantage of this opportunity and moved quickly through the Dodgers minor league system from Rancho Cucamonga to Oklahoma City in three months proving to be a high energy player and good teammate.
In his first two games with the OKC Dodgers Toles has found the going a bit tough. He walked in his first at bat as a Dodger on June 30th and did come around to score. In his four other at bats be flew out twice and grounded out twice. He is an aggressive hitter twice having one-pitch outs.
Toles, who is a strong defender gifted with speed, takes a good route to fly balls or else he just runs them down. He helped the Dodgers maintain a three game lead over division rivals Colorado Springs Sky Sox by playing errorless ball in right field. The Dodgers defeated the Nashville Sounds 5-2 behind five strong innings by right-hander Jose De Leon and a four hit night by catcher Jack Murphy.
On Friday evening, in his second appearance with the Dodgers, Toles started in center field. He continued the pattern from his first game making two one-pitch outs in his first two at bats.
The Dodgers defeated the Sounds for a second straight night coming away with a win by breaking the game wide open with four runs in the seventh and eighth innings and then hanging on for a 9-6 victory. Austin Barnes accounted for four of those runs with his first career grand slam in the seventh inning and the Dodgers first grand slam of the season.
On the mound Cotton was the victim of some poor defense behind him which ran up his pitch count and limited him to six innings strong innings. He gave up two unearned runs on two hits while walking one and striking out nine. All nine of his strikeouts were on swinging strikes. Dodgers announcer, Alex Freedman, described the strength of the Dodgers pitching during the season and indicated that when he is on, Cotton is perhaps the most fun to watch.
On the evening Toles went 0-4 and is still looking for his first hit at the AAA level.
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Although it was a rather fleeting moment, I am grateful that I got the chance to meet and watch Andrew during his brief time at Rancho. In fact, while watching him for the very first time at the Quakes home opener (from which I shot the above photo), I immediately sent a message to Harold asking him if he had ever heard of Andrew Toles. Although he had not, Harold subsequently wrote this article on him after his promotion to Double-A Tulsa:
Toles makes Drillers Debut with a bang
Admittedly I was not familiar with Andrew Toles until this year at Rancho. He seems to be making the most of his 2nd chance. While I think he gives the Dodgers OF depth and options, I do not see him becoming a regular for LAD as long as Joc Pederson is the CF for LA. He is the same age as Pederson but without Joc’s power. I have never seen Toles play, and I understand that he is a solid defensive player, but I would be surprised that he is a better defensive player than Joc. And while I like speed, the Dodgers do not seem to make that a high priority. I wish him luck, and hope he makes it onto someone’s ML 25 man roster. If it is the Dodgers, all the better.
I also don’t think Toles will replace Joc. However, like you, I hope Andrew keeps on chugging and finds a place in MLB somewhere else if not with the Dodgers.
His style of play is not dissimilar from Juan Pierre – high energy – although his minor league stats do not measure up to Pierre’s. His height and weight are almost identical to JP’s and both hit from the left side. He is more like JP than Joc although he is a good defensive player, as was JP, just not as good as Joc. He has a much better arm than JP and can play all three outfield positions.
Many folks didn’t like JP. I was a big fan. I like guys that come to play and make it when they are not supposed to. What’s not to like with 2217 MLB hits and a career average of .295 and 614 stolen bases?
This season and next season are pivotal for Andrew Toles. As of right now he is 5 for 11 in his last three games including a home run with two hits in his first two at bats tonight.
Correct that 3-3 tonight with 3 RBI.