When Touki Toussaint arrived at Guaranteed Rate Field, he got lost trying to find the White Sox clubhouse. This came after his flight from Miami was delayed two hours, causing him to get stuck in rush-hour traffic on the Kennedy Expressway. But when he finally took the mound, he looked right at home in his White Sox debut.
Toussaint was designated for assignment by the Guardians on Saturday and claimed by the White Sox three days later. The day the White Sox claimed him happened to be his 27th birthday. Nick Padilla was optioned to Triple-A Charlotte in a corresponding move.
The addition of Toussaint was scoffed at by many White Sox fans, who wrote it off as another Rick Hahn dumpster dive to fill holes on the roster. But Toussaint is not just any ordinary struggling big leaguer. He is a former first-round pick and top-100 prospect, which is exactly the type of player Rick Hahn loves to take fliers on.
To this point, he has had issues living up to his top prospect billing. Since 2018 he owns a 5.33 career ERA in 174 innings. His main issue is control. He strikeouts out 23.5 percent of batters he faces and also has a solid ground ball rate. However, his 13.9 percent walk rate has caused him all kinds of problems.
The Angels non-tendered him at the end of last season and he has spent the majority of the season throwing innings out of the Columbus Clippers bullpen, the Triple-A affiliate for the Cleveland Guardians. During that stretch, he posted a 4.06 ERA over 20 appearances.
Toussaint knew he was going to take the mound Thursday night when he finally pulled into the stadium an hour before the game. He just didn’t know when.
“It’s been a whirlwind this last week, Toussaint told MLB.com. “They told me to be ready to pitch.”
After Jimmy Lambert served up a three-run bomb in the fifth inning, Pedro Grifol called on Toussaint to take the ball in the sixth. He was ready.
Toussaint tossed four scoreless innings, didn’t allow a hit, and struck out four Rangers. His only blemish was a pair of walks, but he was able to work around each of them. The curveball he unleashed to strike out Adolis Garcia was particularly impressive.
In the eighth inning, he threw another 77 mph curveball that had Ezequiel Duran swinging out of his shoes.
His performance helped eat up innings for a heavily taxed White Sox bullpen and kept the team in the game as they tried to claw their way back from a 6-1 deficit. He also made a bit of history by becoming the first reliever in White Sox history to throw fou no-hit innings in his debut with the team. The only other pitcher to throw four plus no-hit innings in their White Sox debut was Wilson Alvarez in 1991, when he tossed nine no hit innings on August 11th.
It’s still too early to say if Toussaint can be an impact pitcher for the White Sox. But given his previous starting experience and quality stuff, he gives the pitching staff a bit more depth. Something that could prove to be valuable down the stretch if Lance Lynn continues to struggle or Mike Clevinger misses any more time with injuries.
Nice addition but it’s one BandAid for multiple gaping wounds. Hard to have any excitement for my all-time favorite franchise. *sigh* And there’s no end in sight – so sad.