Spend even one minute with 24-year-old Dodgers rookie outfielder Andrew Toles and you will immediately notice two things about him. First, he is extremely quiet and humble; and second, he is very funny. But spend several minutes with the Decatur, Georgia native and you will find that not only is he extremely honored and grateful to be in the clubhouse of the Los Angeles Dodgers, but he hasn’t forgotten how he got there.

Prior to Tuesday night’s series opener against the division-rival San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium, I spoke with Toles about the just-concluded series against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park in which the left-handed hitting / right-handed throwing, 5′-10″-185-pound outfielder went 3 for 8 with a home run and four runs batted in the day before; his first MLB home run, in fact.

“I was seeing the ball well. I was putting it in play and they weren’t catching it,” Toles said. “I was comfortable there but it was just mainly some adjustments I made in the minor leagues so that I can come back up here (to the major leagues) and not get beat on a couple pitches, and I guess it worked out.”

Often times when a player makes an adjustment or “figures it out,” they are reluctant to talk about it in fear that MLB pitchers will make adjustments to their adjustments. Not so with Toles, who readily admits that it was former Angels slugger and current Dodgers minor league hitting coach Shawn Wooten who helped him the most.

“Lower-half stuff, mechanical stuff,” said Toles. “I was working with our Triple-A guy, our hitting coach Shawn Wooten. He saw some things in my swing that nobody else saw.”

Although Toles wasn’t in the Dodgers starting line-up on Tuesday evening, he entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the bottom of the sixth inning and promptly hit an RBI double off the wall in right-center field to turn a 5-4 Dodgers lead into a 6-4 lead. He would then come around to score himself on an RBI single by Dodgers center fielder Kiké Hernandez.

Toles’ pinch-hit RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning proved to be the game-winning hit in the Dodgers 9-5 win over the Giants on Tuesday night. (Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Not being one to squander his limited playing opportunities, Toles lined an 84-MPH Javier Lopez fastball over the wall in his next at-bat in the eighth inning for a two-run home run to give the Dodgers a comfortable 9-4 lead and put the game out of reach.

What made Toles’ home run all the more interesting is that it was the second Dodgers home run on the night, with the first being hit by right fielder Rob Segedin off of Giants left-hander Madison Bumgarner in the second inning. Ironically, Segedin and Toles hit back-to-back home runs the day before in Cincinnati, the first career home run for both.

This is where Toles’ sense of humor came into play. When asked about the uniqueness of two rookies hitting their first two career home runs on consecutive days, Toles readily admitted that he didn’t see Segedin’s second-inning blast.

“I didn’t get to see it, I was in the bathroom,” Toles said, causing a chorus of laughter from the gathered media. “I heard about it and then I hit one, so that’s cool.”

Toles missed Rob Segedin’s second home run in as many days. “I didn’t get to see it, I was in the bathroom,” Toles said. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)

Toles also said that he doesn’t have what he considers a “power stroke,” although he may have a difficult time convincing Dodger fans of this, having gone 5 for 10 with a double, two home runs and seven RBIs since being recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City just three days earlier.

“I wouldn’t say power is part of my game. You saw the home runs, they didn’t go very far… wall-scrapers,” Toles said, drawing further laughter. “I’m just putting good swings on the ball.”

Although it is highly unlikely that Toles will supplant veteran outfielder Josh Reddick as the Dodgers everyday right fielder – at least (probably) not anytime soon – the extremely polite and respectful young outfielder will probably get his fair share of playing time; most likely in left field.

After Tuesday’s game, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts revealed that 37-year-old veteran second baseman Chase Utley was dealing with a “left foot issue” and is considered “day-to-day.” As such, 33-year-old fellow veteran second-baseman-turned-left-fielder Howie Kendrick will undoubtedly get most of the playing time at second base until Utley returns. This, in turn, lines Toles up to take over left field duties – at least against right-handed pitching. And though the Dodgers currently have Hernandez listed as their only right-handed-hitting outfielder on their 25-man roster, utility infielder Rob Segedin can also play in the outfield and, in fact, started in right field on Tuesday against Bumgarner.

But regardless of the role he is put in, Andrew Toles has made it abundantly clear that he is extremely grateful for whatever that role may be.

“I just go out there and play and do my best.”