Red Sox Rumors: Payton Tolle Or Kyle Harrison? Club Drops Big Hint

Inquiring minds want to know: Who will be the starting pitcher for the Boston Red Sox on Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles?

At this point, Kyle Harrison and Payton Tolle are the front-runners to fill the open spot in the rotation. While the Red Sox are saying little about who it could be, an interesting development might have tipped the club’s hand.

Harrison started for Triple-A Worcester Tuesday, but left the game after just three innings. The left-hander gave up one run on three hits and one walk, but only threw 38 pitches.

Speculation is growing that the WooSox pulled Harrison from the 5-2 win over the Durham Bulls to save him for Saturday’s start against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Fenway Park.

Harrison has made 11 starts for Worcester, posting a 4-2 record and 3.65 ERA following his arrival in June as part of the blockbuster Rafael Devers trade.

Before his trade, Harrison made eight appearances this season for the Giants, including four starts. He went 1-1 with a 4.56 ERA.

But it’s also possible the Red Sox tap Tolle, their top pitching prospect, for Saturday’s start.

The left-hander has rocketed through the minors this season and now sits at Triple-A Worcester, where he continues to impress, leading to buzz the Red Sox will call up Tolle.

For his part, Red Sox manager Alex Cora is keeping his options open.

“We’ll take it day by day. We’ve got our three (starters) lined up for this series and then we’ll see what we do over the weekend,”Cora said Tuesday before the 5-0 win over the Baltimore Orioles, according to Masslive.com’s Christohper Smith.

“There’s going to be conversations during the week and then we’ll decide what we do,” Cora added, per Smith. “We’ve still got options down there. Obviously less than a week ago but we feel good where we’re at.”

Smith reported Tolle is slated to start Thursday for the WooSox. The southpaw made three starts for Worcester, going 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 15 innings.

In its updated list of the top 100 prospects, as well as the top 30 prospects for each club. MLB Pipeline has Tolle No. 2 for the Red Sox, behind shortstop Franklin Arias, who ranks No. 24 overall. Tolle is No. 28 overall.