In writing about Matt Wisler's impending debut on Friday, I noted the Atlanta Braves focused on adding young starting pitchers to their system via trade this winter. In the offseason, the front office -- led by John Hart -- added Wisler, Mike Foltynewicz, Max Fried, Manny Banuelos and Shelby Miller. All are under the age of 25, and at various stages of development -- with top prospect pedigree.
Wisler was stellar in his major league debut, allowing one run in eight economical innings of work. His pair of strikeouts served as bookends to the other 22 outs he generated. He kept the New York Mets off balance and off base with a four-pitch medley and velocity separation greater than 20 mph from zenith (95 mph) to nadir (73 mph). Miller has been a tremendous addition as the 24-year-old ace of the staff. Detractors will look at his 1.99 ERA and scream regression! However, there are few that can hold such an ERA anyway. Even if he adds to his current rate, he has top-shelf stuff and years of team control beyond 2015.
Banuelos and Foltynewicz are teammates in Triple-A Gwinnett heading in opposite directions, but are talented nonetheless. Foltynewicz was recently demoted after being unable to harness his high-octane arsenal, but showed flashes of brilliance in his first go-around with Atlanta. Banuelos was once the top prize in the New York Yankees' system, but was derailed by injury and ineffectiveness. Rehabbed and producing solid results, he finds himself on the cusp of a call-up.
Fried was a top prospect in the San Diego Padres' system and the key piece of the Justin Upton deal for Altanta. He is recovering from Tommy John surgery and should be a full "go" for 2016. He is currently assigned to Class A Rome.
That brings us to the newest addition to Atlanta's pitching pipeline: Touki Toussaint. In money-driven move, Atlanta assumed the contract of injured starter Bronson Arroyo and were gifted Toussaint in the process while the Arizona Diamondbacks received salary relief and backup infielder Phil Gosselin. Toussaint, the 16th overall pick in the 2014 draft, ranked as Arizona's third-best prospect according to Keith Law's preseason rankings. He struggled in his professional debut last season, but has looked much improved as a 19-year-old in the Midwest League (Class A). The righty has a plus heater and a pair of secondary pitches that should be above-average or better as he develops.
Atlanta has done a fantastic job of building their list of young players. Let's see if any land on this week's rankings.