The 2019 Atlanta Braves’ rookie of the year candidates
By John Le
Dropping the Nastiest Curve Balls Around
Next up is a guy I think should get the 5th rotation spot for the Braves if the rotation is set as guessed earlier; if not, then Max Fried.
Last season, Touki Toussaint made 5 starts out of 7 appearances for the major league club and had a 4.03 ERA with a 2-1 record. To add to that, he struck out 32 batters in just 29 innings!
Baseball America has Toussaint as the Braves #5 overall prospect compared to Ben Chase’s rankings which has Toussaint at #4.
Toussaint made a 2 inning start for the Braves 1st Grapefruit League game for spring on Saturday and did well. He retired the first four batters he faced but did allow a 1-out 2-run homer in the 2nd.
Strong start for Touki Toussaint, who retires the Mets in order in the first. Threw 14 pitches, 11 for strikes. Fastball sitting 93/94, touched 95. Snapped off a couple sharp curveballs as well. #Braves @680TheFan
— Kevin McAlpin (@KevinMcAlpin) February 23, 2019
He also struck out 2 batters during his outing and the homer was on a good pitch inside that sadly got crushed by Pete Alonso.
Toussaint will also be competing for a rotation spot. Though there are a lot of young arms that will join the mix, he has proven enough to become one of the frontrunners. Ben Chase said the same thing on the 22-year-old in his prospect rankings:
"“Toussaint still needs to iron out his control at the big league level…but his talent can’t be denied, and he certainly has to be considered a front-runner for a rotation spot for 2019 in Atlanta”"
Just take a look at one of the pitches he threw on Saturday’s game. Absolutely dirty:
Touki Toussaint's splitter falling off the table to Devin Mesoraco. pic.twitter.com/EWdyoMb9zQ
— Nick Pollack (@PitcherList) February 23, 2019
His curve ball is considered the best pitch in the entire Braves system and could be one of the best in the majors. If you haven’t seen what THAT looks like…well, here’s one from last August:
More curveball filth from Touki Toussaint for his fourth strikeout pic.twitter.com/S4kifkgxwl
— Nick Pollack (@PitcherList) August 13, 2018
His pitches look like something out of the movie Wanted. Of the pitching prospects that are expected to either continue their progress in 2019 or make their debut in 2019, I think Toussaint will have the bigger year.
Maybe it’s bias but if he continues to do what he did for Atlanta last season, than it’s not that bold of a statement; plus he’s already off to a good start in spring.