Toussaint on track for MLB debut in twin bill
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ATLANTA -- As soon as Touki Toussaint was scratched from Friday night's start with Triple-A Gwinnett, Braves fans gained further reason to eagerly anticipate his Major League debut.
It appears that will come at SunTrust Park on Monday, when Toussaint is expected to be promoted from Gwinnett to start the opener in a doubleheader against the Marlins.
With Max Fried on the disabled list, Luiz Gohara dealing with a sore left shoulder and Kolby Allard showing he is not yet Major League ready, the Braves don't have many other attractive options beyond Toussaint, who ranks as baseball's 76th-best prospect and the Braves' seventh-best prospect per MLB Pipeline.
Toussaint has posted a 2.10 ERA over the 12 starts he's combined to make for Double-A Mississippi and Gwinnett dating back to May 24. The 22-year-old right-hander has a 2.01 ERA, 32 strikeouts and 13 walks over the 31 1/3 innings he has totaled through his first five starts for Gwinnett.
With the Braves planning on using a five-man rotation, Toussaint will likely make just one start and then return to Gwinnett to extend his development. He has 28 starts above the Class A Advanced level.
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To get Toussaint from the D-backs during the 2015 season, the Braves exchanged Phil Gosselin and agreed to pay the remainder of the $10 million owed to Bronson Arroyo while understanding the veteran hurler would never throw a pitch for them after completing his recovery from Tommy John surgery.