Austin Riley and Touki Toussaint were named the Atlanta Braves Minor League Players of the Year for 2018, the team announced Tuesday.
Riley, the Gwinnett Stripers third baseman, received the Hank Aaron Award for player of the year. Riley was also named the Stripers’ Player of the Year. Toussaint, the right-hander now with the Braves, received the Phil Niekro Award for pitcher of the year. Kolby Allard was named the Stripers’ Pitcher of the Year.
The 21-year-old Riley combined to bat .294 (120-for-408) with 30 doubles, three triples, 19 home runs, 61 runs scored, 70 RBIs, a .522 slugging percentage and an .882 OPS over 108 games between Gwinnett, Double-A Mississippi and the Rookie-level GCL Braves. Over 75 games in Triple-A, he hit .282 (82-for-291) with 17 doubles, 12 homers, 41 runs scored and 47 RBIs.
The 22-year-old Toussaint led all Braves’ minor league pitchers with a 2.38 ERA (36 ER in 136.1 IP) and ranked tied for eighth in minor league baseball in strikeouts (163), going 9-6 in 24 starts between Mississippi and Gwinnett.
