Former D-backs prospects bolster Braves' farm system
ATLANTA — When Touki Toussaint took his official visit to Vanderbilt during his senior year of high school, three future MLB draft picks showed him around campus: Jarod Miller, Tyler Beede and Dansby Swanson.
It was a brief encounter, but that star-studded cast of characters featured three future first-rounders, including Toussaint, who went No. 16 overall in 2014, and three Arizona Diamondbacks draftees — two of whom now find themselves as high-profile prospects in a new organization 1,800 miles back east.
"I stayed with (Swanson) for about 25 minutes," said Toussaint, the 19-year-old right-hander out of Coral Springs, Fla. "He showed me around class. I shadowed him and Beede, and that was about it. I saw him at practice and he works hard."
Toussaint and Swanson are now significant building blocks in the Atlanta Braves organization following a series of trades between the two National League franchises. It is a reunion of sorts for the Vanderbilt commit and the Vanderbilt legend, two of the Braves' highest-rated prospects. Swanson was drafted No. 1 overall by the Diamondbacks 12 months after Toussaint jumped straight out of high school into Arizona's farm system.
Since Tony La Russa took over Arizona's baseball operations department in May 2014, the Diamondbacks have traded their past three first-round picks — Toussaint, Swanson and pitcher Aaron Blair — to Atlanta in exchange for Phil Gosselin, Bronson Arroyo's exorbitant contract and, of course, top-of-the-rotation starter Shelby Miller. Throw in valuable (and controllable) 25-year-old outfielder Ender Inciarte and the Braves' shopping list has focused primarily on the Diamondbacks' young talent in recent months.
The crown jewel of this ongoing trade partnership, which dates back to the Justin Upton trade in 2013, is Swanson, the 21-year-old shortstop who was the consensus top pick in the 2015 draft. He's a bona fide superstar prospect that projects as the franchise's starting shortstop by 2017. Swanson's inclusion in the Miller blockbuster garnered unanimous rave reviews for Atlanta's front office and perhaps set unattainable standards for later trades of controllable standouts like Todd Frazier and Ken Giles.
A 6-foot-1 athlete with a diverse set of tools, Swanson posted a .394 on-base percentage and 145 weighted runs created in his first taste of pro ball with Low-A Hillsboro.
"You read the Baseball Americas and you watch the College World Series and you see what all the write-ups are on Dansby. And everything so far has been as advertised. He's been a tremendous athlete," Braves assistant director of player development Jonathan Schuerholz said on Thursday. "I mean, the guy got hit in the head his first pitch he sees in professional baseball by his teammate, and he comes back and has a pretty good year.
"All that included, this is an exciting player, much to the fanfare of a Bryce Harper. I'm not ever going to put a — well, we hope he is Bryce Harper. Shoot, if he's an MVP? That's great. But you don't say, 'We expect this guy to be an MVP.' That's just not a fair label to place on a young man who's just begun his professional baseball career."
The point stands, though: Expectations are sky-high.
In the pitching department, general manager John Coppolella's specialty, the Braves acquired polar opposites in Toussaint and Blair.
Toussaint, the first D-backs prospect Coppelella & Co. traded for, essentially purchasing his rights for the $10 million owed to Arroyo, is an absolute wildcard with dynamic stuff. The teenager has struggled with command and delivery consistency, but if he ever hits his stride he projects as a mid-rotation arm or late-inning reliever. When asked if he'd prefer to remain a starter, Toussaint, who attended the franchise's prospect camp in Atlanta this week, did not hesitate: "Hopefully all the way to the big leagues."
In his final top-200 prospect rankings before accepting a position in the Braves' front office, Kiley McDaniel slotted Toussaint at No. 114 overall, writing, "He'll flash an easy plus fastball and a plus-plus curveball with a changeup that's really progressed, but he'll likely have to gear down the effort and arm speed a notch or two so he can command everything enough to start." As his age and poor numbers (5.74 FIP, 6.10 walks per nine innings) in A-ball suggest, Toussaint is years away from competing for a MLB roster spot. Still, in an organization that prides itself on pitching, his natural arm talent is obvious.
Toussaint is high-risk, high-reward personified.
Blair finds himself at the other end of the spectrum: He's the safer option knocking on the door.
At the Winter Meetings in Nashville, John Hart confirmed that the 23-year-old righty is a major-league rotation option in 2016, saying he's closer than even Tyrell Jenkins, Lucas Sims and Sean Newcomb. Blair's arsenal doesn't demand top prospect attention, but he's preposterously productive. He posted a 3.16 ERA in a notorious Triple-A hitter's haven last season.
ESPN insider Keith Law broke down Blair's strengths after the Miller trade: "Blair is a strike-thrower who generates a lot of ground balls and misses just enough bats thanks to a strong three-pitch mix, with heavy sink on his low-90s fastball, a plus changeup, and a much-improved curveball. He might have a slightly limited ceiling, but there's a hint of Brandon Webb in here."
This talent transfusion, along with similar interactions with the Padres (Max Fried, Mallex Smith, Jace Peterson) and Angels (Newcomb, Chris Ellis, Ricardo Sanchez), leaves the Braves in an enviable position in terms of young, controllable talent.
The franchise's farm system is among baseball's elite — Coppolella, a prospects guru, says it is No. 1 overall — and now the conversation shifts to when the former Diamondbacks farmhands, among others, start making waves in Atlanta.
Swanson and Blair were unable to attend Atlanta's prospect camp due to prior commitments.
"These guys' worlds just got rocked after a trade," Schuerholz said. "Especially a guy like (Swanson), 1-1 in the draft, thinks he's going to be a Diamondback for life like all young drafted players think they're going to be with that organization the rest of their career, and their world gets rocked. It takes some time to kind let the dust settle."
There are adjustments ahead for Swanson and Blair. New organizations mean new coaches, new development strategies, new ballparks and road trips ... and, occasionally, a new set of guidelines to follow.
"You have to make adjustments because other organizations have different rules," Toussaint laughed. "It was kinda tough to begin with — clean-shaven (with the Braves), and I had a goatee. High socks, I wasn't used to that. It's different."
Perhaps Toussaint will be the one providing Swanson with a few pointers this time around, returning the favor left over from their first meeting in Nashville.
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