Toussaint, 17, went 8-2 with a 1.22 ERA in 63.1 innings pitched while striking out 104 batters for the Crusaders. The Vanderbilt commit led Coral Springs to the Florida State Final Four en route to being named the Miami Herald 2014 5A-2A Pitcher of the Year. In Toussaint’s junior campaign, he garnered invitations to the Perfect Game (PETCO Park) and Under Amour (Wrigley Field) All-American games, and as a sophomore, struck out 18 batters over 6.0 innings pitched in the PG World Wood Bat Championships. Toussaint earned a gold medal with the USA Baseball 16U National Team in 2011.
“We’re really excited to add this type of arm, athlete and talent to our system,” said Montgomery. “Touki has an electric fastball, a plus curveball and a combination of two or three pitches that are starter quality. He’s very advanced, very worldly and the type of person that Touki is off the field, still outweighs the talent he has on the field.”
The 6-for-2, 198-pound right-handed pitcher was rated by Baseball America as the nation’s third-best high school pitcher and MLB.com as the No. 8 Prospect, overall, in today’s draft. Toussaint is the 20th first-round selection for the D-backs and 11th taken from the high school ranks. The D-backs had two first-round selections in 2003, 2009 and 2011.
The Diamondbacks also selected 30 additional players in rounds 11-40 of Major League Baseball’s First-Year Player Draft. According to Montgomery, of the 42 picks, the D-backs selected 26 players from college and 16 players from the high school ranks, including 5 catchers, 9 infielders, 6 outfielders, 7 left-handed pitchers and 15 right-handed pitchers.
Arizona Diamondbacks 2014 draft picks of note:
•Left-handed Pitcher Cody Reed (Second Round, 54th overall), from Ardmore (Ala.) High School, garnered Gatorade 2014 Alabama Player of the Year accolades after going 10-2 with a 0.46 ERA and 226 strikeouts over 92.0 innings pitched.
•Outfielder Marcus Wilson (Competitive Balance-Round B, 69th overall), a product of MLB’s Urban Youth Academy and an Arizona State University commit, is rated by MLB.com as the No. 35 Prospect in the draft.
•Infielder Isan Diaz (Competitive Balance Round B, 70th overall), from Springfield (Mass.) Central High School, hit .529 (27-for-51) as a senior and is rated by Baseball America as the No. 34 infield prospect in the draft.
•RHP Touki Toussaint (First Round, 16th overall) went 8-2 with a 1.22 ERA while striking out 104 batters this season. He was named 2014 Miami Herald 5A-2A Pitcher of the Year and a Perfect Game First-Team All-American.
•LHP Cody Reed (Second Round, 54th), from Ardmore (Ala.) High School, garnered Gatorade 2014 Alabama Player of the Year accolades after going 10-2 with a 0.46 ERA and 226 strikeouts over 92.0 innings pitched.
•OF Marcus Wilson (Competitive Balance-Round B, 69th) is a product of MLB’s Urban Youth Academy and a member of his local Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) chapter. The Arizona State University commit is rated by MLB.com as the No. 35 Prospect and by Baseball America as the No. 10 Outfield Prospect in the draft.
•INF Isan Diaz (Competitive Balance Round B, 70th), from Springfield (Mass.) Central High School, hit .529 (27-for-51) as a senior and is rated by Baseball America as the No. 34 infield prospect in the draft.
•OF Matt Railey (Third Round, 89th), a Florida State commit, is rated by Baseball America as the ninth-best prospect in Florida after batting .407 (35-for-86) this year. He was named a Second-Team All-American by Perfect Game.
•RHP Brent Jones (Fourth Round, 120th) is Cornell’s highest-ever draft pick. He went 2-3 with a 2.50 ERA in 9 starts this season, garnering All-Ivy League Honorable Mention accolades.
•LHP Zac Curtis (Sixth Round, 180th), a 2014 All-Conference USA selection and Gregg Olson Award semifinalist, went 9-3 with a 1.89 ERA (24 ER in 114.0 IP) and led all Division-I pitchers with 143 strikeouts.
•INF Tyler Humphreys (Seventh Round, 210th), who was named Mid-Florida Conference Male Athlete of the Year, led the nation with 18 home runs and hit .347 with 12 doubles and 57 RBI for the Vikings this season.
•OF Grant Heyman (Eighth Round, 240th), the Scenic West Conference Player of the Year, hit .377 (66-for-175) with 24 doubles, 8 home runs and 43 RBI in 52 games for the Coyotes. He committed to Oregon State University.
•RHP Scott Schultz (Tenth Round, 300th) went 7-2 with 6 saves, a 1.61 ERA (12 ER in 67.0 IP) and 3 complete games (1 shutout) in 25 games (5 starts) for the No. 1 ranked Oregon State baseball team.
•LHP Jared Miller (11th Round, 330th) was 6-2 with a 4.25 ERA (28 ER in 59.1 IP) with 45 strikeouts in 14 games (10 starts) for the Commodores this season. Miller pitched in relief his first two seasons at Vanderbilt.
•INF Kevin Cron (14th Round, 420th), son of D-backs Hitting Coordinator Chris Cron and brother Angels’ first baseman C.J. Cron, hit .275 (61-for-222) with 17 doubles and 38 RBI in 60 games for TCU. He attended Mountain Pointe High School in Phoenix, Ariz. and established an Arizona high school record with 24 homers during his senior campaign.
•C Tyler Baker (15th Round, 450th) garnered 2014 All-Missouri Valley Conference honorable mention accolades and was previously named to the Johnny Bench Award watch list during the 2013 season.
•RHP Garrett Mundell (18th Round, 540th) went 4-0 with 1 save, a 1.58 ERA (8 ER in 45.2 IP) and 38 strikeouts in 29 games (3 starts) for the Bulldogs. Earned Alaska Baseball League Pitcher of the Year honors in 2013.
•RHP J.B. Bukauskas (20th Round, 600th), a 2014 Perfect Game First-Team All-American, is rated by Baseball America as the No. 18 Pitching Prospect in the draft and is committed to playing at the University of North Carolina.
•OF Gerard Hernandez (21st Round, 630th) batted .372 (32-for-86) with 9 home runs, 19 RBI and 10 stolen bases for Pinnacle High School in Phoenix, Ariz. He is committed to play at Yavapai College in Prescott, Ariz.
This was the D-backs’ 19th First-Year Player Draft since being awarded an expansion team from Major League Baseball in 1995.