MLB.com recently posted an article that was titled “5 ‘buy-low’ pitchers your team could pursue. Some of the names I liked. Some of the names I hated. However, one name stood out above the rest. Touki Toussaint is the perfect buy low candidate. If Touki is truly on the market or even slightly available, teams should jump all over this one.
Baseball is a game about numbers, but we forget there’s a human element too. Atlanta is a weird place. They have so many young arms that they don’t have a place to put all of them. They keep adding pieces too. For that reason, Touki Toussaint was thrust into the bullpen. A place Toussaint never belonged. Despite dominating as a starter in AAA, Tousaint was put into the bullpen. It’s a totally different mindset coming out of the pen.
Guys start throwing harder and leaving it all out there for one inning. The evidence has shown that it’s hurt Touki. Toussaint is walking 6 guys per 9. That’s not great. Actually it’s horrible. His command shouldn’t be that bad. Pitching out of the bullpen is a factor. His splits are far better as a starter as well.
When I worked inside the clubhouse for IronPigs, I watched too many minor league games. Touki Toussaint and Michael King were the most impressive guys I watched. Toussaint has maybe the nastiest curveball I’ve ever seen in person. I don’t care who is in the batter box, nobody hits that thing.
The numbers show that Toussaint has kept hitters off balance. The Braves talented arm has a career 32.1% hard-hit rate and 86.3 mph average exit velocity. Both are better than major league average. That’s while getting lit up. Toussaint has a nasty curveball, good fastball velocity, and a funky changeup.
A 5.62 ERA is ugly on the surface. A WHIP of 1.68 is horrible too. Forget about that for a second. The talent is there. Toussaint, 23, was a first round pick for a reason. If the Braves show any inkling of being willing to move on from Toussaint, teams should jump all over this.
