Red Sox Insider Praises Payton Tolle, Gives Comp To Former Cy Young Winner
Tolle's stock continues rising as he settles in with the WooSox
Boston could soon become Payton Tolle’s place. The Red Sox prospect moved up to No. 2 in MLB Pipeline’s ranking of Boston’s top 30 prospects and No. 28 overall, up from No 91 in the preseason ranking.
The burly left-hander also impressed in his Triple-A debut Sunday. All that has WEEI’s Rob Bradford singing Tolle’s praises. Consider what the insider said Wednesday on NESN when the topic turned to the 22-year-old potentially reaching Fenway Park this season.
“He has maybe the best, most impactful fastball in all of the minor leagues. And you know The guy I think of when I think of Payton Tolle potentially impacting the major league team is David Price in 2008.
“David Price had five regular-season appearances, comes in, and all due apologies to J.D. Drew and family when he swung and missed, bases loaded, ALCS Game 7, he can impact with just two pitches, two really good pitches, that’s what this kid has and he certainly looks the part,” Bradford added.
Price was a 22-year-old rookie in 2008 and helped propel the Tampa Bay Rays past the Red Sox and into the World Series. The left-hander went on to become a five-time All-Star and won the 2012 American League Cy Young Award.
The lefty later played four seasons in Boston, helping the club win the 2018 World Series. Price won 157 games in 14 big-league campaigns with a career 3.32 ERA. The Red Sox would no doubt welcome that kind of trajectory for Tolle.
Taking the Sunday mound for Worcester, Tolle went five innings in the 6-3 loss to the Buffalo Bisons.
The lefty struggled out of the gate, giving up all six runs in the first inning. A grand slam followed by a two-run homer put the WooSox in a hole early.
But Tolle bounced back, shutting Buffalo down the next four innings. He left the mound after throwing 72 pitches, including 53 for strikes as he whiffed three Bisons.
Tolle started this season with High-A Greenville, where he went 1-3 with a 3.62 ERA in 11 games (10 starts). He struck out 79 batters in 49 2/3 innings pitched.
The Red Sox promoted the 2024 second-round draft pick to Double-A Portland in June. He went 1-1 with a 1.67 ERA in six games (5 starts) and struck out 37 batters in 27 innings, earning a surprising bump to Triple-A Worcester earlier this month.
Is it possible Tolle heads to Boston before the season ends? The sky’s seemingly the limit for the best pitcher in the Red Sox farm system.
