D-backs select Touki Toussaint with first selection in 2014 First-Year Player Draft

PHOENIX -- The Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) selected right-handed pitcher Touki Toussaint (@_YoSoy_Touki) out of Coral Springs (Fla.) Christian Academy with their first selection (16th overall) in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft, according to D-backs' Director, Scouting Ray Montgomery.

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.

Today's selections of note include LHP Cody Reed, OF Marcus Wilson and INF Isan Diaz:

• 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.

The draft will continue tomorrow with Rounds 3-10 starting at 10:05 a.m. AZT/1:05 ET and Rounds 11-40 on Saturday beginning 10:05 a.m. AZT/1:05 PT.