Congratulations ToukiToussaint. Aside from the fact that this young man is a great player and inspiration to other young Haitian American, he is also from my home town, so I am definitely a fan. Here are some excerpts from Arizona Sports article.
Last Thursday, the Arizona Diamondbacks dipped into the high school ranks when they selected 17-year-old Touki Toussaint, a right-handed pitcher from Coral Springs, Fla. with their first-round pick in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft. Toussaint, who has been compared by some to a young Bob Gibson, has committed to play college baseball at Vanderbilt University.
So now the question becomes signability. Can the D-backs convince a youngster who has publicly stated that he’s not chasing money to eschew his collegiate experience and play pro ball?
Arizona Diamondbacks director of scouting Ray Montgomery says Toussaint has a tough decision ahead of him.
“If your worst choice is choosing between Vanderbilt University and signing a professional contract, I think as parents, we’d all be happy with that,” Montgomery told Doug and Wolf Monday on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM.
Ultimately, Montgomery believes the D-backs and the professional baseball route have more to offer the youngster.
Montgomery admitted that projecting success with high school prospects can be a challenge, but Toussaint’s raw skills made the D-backs’ choice a simple one. Toussaint went 8-2 with a 1.22 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 63.1 innings for Coral Springs Christian Academy during his senior season.
He is just the fifth high school pitcher they’ve selected with a first-round pick, joining Archie Bradley (2011), Jarrod Parker (2007), Casey Daigle (1999) and Nick Bierbrodt (1996).
According to MiamiHerald,
Touki Toussaint could be first South Florida player picked in Major League Baseball’s First-Year Player Draft. Toussaint was born in Pembroke Pines before moving to Haiti as an infant. He returned to Broward at age 6. Toussaint’s first love was soccer, but he picked up baseball when he was 11 and turned out to be pretty good at it.
Toussaint enrolled at Coral Springs Christian as a sophomore after attending Coral Springs Charter as a freshman. It wasn’t long before his live arm was noticed by scouts.
