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Touki Toussaint: Atlanta Braves’ Smartest Trade in 2015?

By Matthew Schoettler

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The Atlanta Braves acquired pitchers Touki Toussaint and Bronson Arroyo for Phil Gosselin in June, essentially a salary-dump move by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Arizona Diamondbacks drafted Touki Toussaint out of high school with the 16th pick in the 2014 MLB Amateur Draft. Standing at 6′ 3”, Toussaint possesses a low-90s fastball with a lot of life. In addition to his above-average fastball, he has a great curveball, and many scouts considered his curveball to be one of the best breaking balls in the 2014 MLB Draft. While his command needs work, his athleticism overshadows his poor control.

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By being one of the best athletes in the 2014 draft, Touki Toussaint’s athleticism should allow him to hone in on a consistent arm slot to improve his command. In 2014, as a member of the Diamondbacks, Toussaint’s walk rate (BB/9) sat at an abysmal 5.7 per nine innings of work. However, Toussaint posted a solid 10.2 strikeout rate (K/9) that year. Toussaint finished the 2014 season with a 8.58 ERA, 1.98 WHIP, and a 1.6 home run rate (HR/9). Toussaint needed to improve across the board entering the 2015 season.

Touki Toussaint entered the 2015 season as the 71st ranked prospect by Baseball America and the 98th by MLB.com. Toussaint started the season off strong for the Diamondbacks’ Single-A affiliate Kane County Cougars. In seven starts with the team, he posted a 3.69 ERA alongside a 1.18 WHIP and 4.55 FIP. In addition to his improved ERA and WHIP, Toussaint lowered his walk rate from 5.7 in 2014 to 3.5 in 2015 (with the Kane County Cougars). Also, his home run rate dropped to 0.9 from 1.6 the previous season.

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Likely impressed with Toussaint’s improvements, the Atlanta Braves decided to trade for the former first-round pick. The Braves dealt injured utility man Phil Gosselin for Touki Toussaint and Bronson Arroyo. The Diamondbacks owed Arroyo roughly $10M (including his buyout); thus, the Braves inherited Arroyo’s contract in the deal. Essentially, the Braves traded away an injured Gosselin and paid $10M for a first-round pick. With prospects’ values at an all-time high, the deal was a no-brainer for Braves GM John Hart.

Following the Touki Toussaint trade, the Atlanta Braves dealt Bronson Arroyo to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a 13-player deal between the Braves, Marlins, and Dodgers. The trade netted the Braves Hector Olivera, Zach Bird, and Paco Rodrigez; however, the Braves gave up top-ranked prospect Jose Peraza and lefty Alex Wood in the deal. Alex Wood’s production began to slip in 2015; thus, Hart decided to trade him while his value was high. Also, Jose Peraza started to struggle to maintain his high average at Triple-A, so he became expendable.

In addition to Peraza’s struggles, the Braves have a spitting-image of Peraza in Ozhaino Albies; although, Albies plays better defense than the aforementioned Peraza. Ultimately, Gosselin, Wood, and Peraza netted the Braves Touki Toussaint, Hector Olivera, and Zach Bird (although other miscellaneous names were included in the deals). Although the trades with the Padres in 2015 were smart deals, the deal with the Diamondbacks jumps out as a superb move. 

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After the Braves acquired Touki Toussaint, the team assigned him to Single-A Rome, but he regressed from his impressive start to the 2015 season. Toussaint’s walk rate soared to 6.1, the second-highest rate of his career (although brief). His ERA ballooned from 3.69 in seven starts with Kane City to 5.73 in 10 starts with Rome, likely due to his inflated walk rate. He finished the 2015 season, split between two organizations, with a 4.83 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and a FIP in the low-fives.

Despite Toussaint’s struggles with Single-A Rome, MLB.com ranks him as the Atlanta Braves’ second-best prospect. Moreover, MLB.com ranked him as the 69th best prospect in baseball at the conclusion of the 2015 season, jumping 29 spots from number 98 at the beginning of the season. Touki Toussaint likely starts out the 2016 season with High-A Carolina, but look for him to improve on his numbers in the upcoming season.

Next: Andrelton Simmons: Time to Trade Star Shortstop?

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