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Dodgers Roster Preview 2017: The Outfield

By Evan Lovett

Oct 11, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson (31) and right fielder Yasiel Puig (66) before playing against the Washington Nationals during game four of the 2016 NLDS playoff baseball series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 11, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Joc Pederson (31) and right fielder Yasiel Puig (66) before playing against the Washington Nationals during game four of the 2016 NLDS playoff baseball series at Dodger Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 4, 2017; Mesa, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andrew Toles (60) at bat during a spring training game against the Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park. The Cubs beat the Dodger 9-3. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 4, 2017; Mesa, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Andrew Toles (60) at bat during a spring training game against the Chicago Cubs at Sloan Park. The Cubs beat the Dodger 9-3. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports /

Andrew Toles

Toles was a revelation in 2016. After washing out of baseball in 2015, he was working frozen foods at a Kroger grocery store for $7.50 per hour, ready to give up on his career.

Then, as the story goes, Dodgers director of player development Gabe Kapler gave Toles a call to invite him to instructional ball for the Dodgers.

He started the 2016 season in A-ball at Rancho Cucamonga and, after hitting .370 his first month, scaled the Dodgers organization at a dizzying pace, ending up with 48 games played for the the big league club, hitting .314.

His OPS was an eye-popping .870 — surely impressive enough to warrant the starting job for 2017 for most organizations.

But the Dodgers are not most organizations, and the front office has done a marvelous job of hoarding talent.

That leaves Toles fighting for attention in a team with a backlog of big names and trophy-waving ambitions. Toles is hitting a paltry .190 with zero runs scored thus far in the spring, and though numbers are moderately irrelevant this early in the calendar, this roster demands performance.

There are still minor league options, which means he may be a candidate to begin the season at Oklahoma City should his bat not heat up.

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