Peoria, Arizona —— This week out at the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona, we caught up with Atlanta Braves pitching prospect Touki Toussaint, who is back out here in Arizona playing for the Peoria Javelinas in the prestigious Arizona Fall League. Toussaint, one of the best — and most popular — Atlanta Braves prospects, is a former member of the Arizona Diamondbacks and spoke with us a little bit about returning to the Phoenix area for AFL now more than two years after he was traded to Atlanta in the Bronson Arroyo deal.
Our on-air host Sande Charles also asks Touki about the Braves fan base, and why they’ve taken so strongly to him as one of their favorite players, and the pair discuss what it’s like to be around so many other top prospects at the AFL this fall. You can watch the full Touki Toussaint interview right here:
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As an added bonus, we caught some game footage of the Atlanta Braves prospect this week at AFL, too. Here’s a clip of Touki Toussaint coming out of the bullpen for an inning of work on Thursday, October 19 at home for Peoria against the Scottsdale Scorpions:
Results-wise, this was not the best showing for Toussaint; he allowed two (very long) home runs early in the inning when his command suffered and he caught too much of the plate with fastballs. But once he settled in after that, you’ll see him throw a few very good curveballs and start to feel out the nuances of the strike zone. Of course, Touki Toussaint started all 26 games he threw during the regular season in 2017 — and he’s started 77 of 82 career games in the minors — so coming out of the bullpen this fall is bound to be a significant adjustment with some hurdles to overcome.
I wouldn’t read too much into Touki’s bullpen role at the AFL right now, either. On Friday, I caught up with Colorado Rockies pitching prospect Yency Almonte pitching for Salt River (coincidentally, one of Toussaint’s close friends), and Almonte told me even though he’s a starter in the eyes of the Rockies, he’ll be exclusively coming out of the bullpen all fall simply as a way to limit workload. I’d guess that’s the same situation for Touki Toussaint, who threw 145 innings during the regular season and doesn’t need to prove much more to the Atlanta Braves, nor be physically pushed too far beyond getting a few looks in short stints.
We’ll have more Touki Toussaint video as the Arizona Fall League wears on. Stay tuned!
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