Is it time for the Braves to give Touki Toussaint another look?

If you were on any form of social media yesterday and follow the Braves, you are well aware of Touki Toussaint‘s stellar outing for the Stripers, and our very own Clint Manry broke down the performance earlier today as part of the Braves farm report. The freshly turned 25-year-old tossed six scoreless innings and did so in dominant fashion, allowing just three baserunners (two hits, one walk — the latter of which is especially encouraging) while striking out 11. In fact, he even punched out the first six batters he faced.

There was no messing around from Toussaint on Thursday night in what was his fifth rehab start in the minors and third in AAA after coming off the 60-day IL, making it fair to wonder when we might see him in Atlanta again. My guess would be soon.

Toussaint was marvelous but had an extremely rough outing on July 2nd before that. He couldn’t make it out of the third inning, allowing six earned runs on five hits and an even more unsightly five free passes. Walks have been what has killed Toussaint in the past, so it’s far from a promising sign that he’s currently sporting a 5.7 BB/9 over his five rehab starts in the minors.

With that being said, if he puts together another performance like he did last night, it will be extremely difficult for the Braves not to give him another chance. Atlanta could use him for a spot start, possibly in place of Kyle Muller, or even see if Toussaint could help provide a boost out of the ‘pen. In spurts, Toussaint has had plenty of success as both a starter and reliever in the majors.

I still think the Braves need to see Toussaint put together at least one more positive outing before calling him back up to the majors. Consistency and walks have always been the issue with him, and so far, those have both been problems for him in his rehab starts. But given how much talent he has and the Braves’ need for pitching, it’s only a matter of time before he’s back in Atlanta, and it could be his last chance to impress the Braves brass.