Atlanta Braves: Touki Toussaint makes his MLB debut
In the first game of today’s doubleheader, the Atlanta Braves will see the debut of highly-touted righty Touki Toussaint. What should Braves fans expect?
The Atlanta Braves have seen the major league debut of a number of players this season. Touki Toussaint will be the third Braves pitcher to debut as a starter this season when he takes the hill against the Marlins.
Our Benjamin Chase put together a scouting report on Touki Toussaint before the 2017 season. We will cover what’s changed for Touki to help him to get to the majors in just a moment.
Originally a first-round draft pick, Touki was acquired by the Atlanta Braves from the Arizona Diamondbacks as part of the trade that saw the Braves take on the inflated salary of Bronson Arroyo. The Braves started immediately in working on Touki’s mechanics to help him be able to harness what is absolutely elite raw stuff on the mound.
Originally drafted with a high leg kick that led to plenty of inconsistency, Touki has simplified his delivery to the point where he often pitches entire games out of the stretch, using a very slight step straight back with his lead leg if he does any sort of windup.
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The fastball is what most will note, and it is the key for Touki’s success today against the Marlins. Touki can certainly dial up elite velocity, into the upper 90s, but where Touki has made big strides this year is in locating that fastball, not just putting it into the zone, but consistently hitting his catcher’s mitt throughout the zone. With his long arms on his 6’3″ frame, he can get excellent plane and late tail if he simply throws the ball rather than trying to dial up the velo, which is when his fastball will flatten out.
The biggest thing for Touki that has changed from that scouting report before the 2017 season, beyond the simplified mechanics, is a focus on his change. Touki’s curveball is definitely a thing of beauty, one of those that makes for amazing GIFs. However, instead of using that so frequently as his second pitch, he’s using his fastball and change to set up hitters and popping in the curve to leave a hitter stunned.
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He will need to have command and control to be successful, but Touki has as much upside as any pitcher in the Braves system, save Ian Anderson. if he puts it together, he’s one of the few that could be a legitimate “ace”. Today, the Atlanta Braves simply need him to shut down the Marlins to help build their first place lead today!