Rising Red Sox Phenom Among MLB’s Biggest Breakout Prospects

The buzz is building for one of the Boston Red Sox’s top prospects. MLB Pipeline released this week its updated rankings of the top minor-league players. Left-hander Payton Tolle ascended to No. 2 in the Red Sox organization and No. 28 overall.

The latest breakdown by MLB.com identified the 10 biggest breakouts on the new Top 100 list. Among them was the burly Boston southpaw.

“The most recent addition to the Top 100, Tolle crept onto the back half of the list in July before taking a huge leap forward, rising more than 60 spots to rank as the third-highest left-handed pitching prospect in the game,” MLB.com’s Sam Dykstra, Jim Callis and Joe Trezza wrote Wednesday. “Boston’s second-rounder from the 2024 Draft, Tolle didn’t debut until this season and has already jumped three levels, reaching Triple-A last weekend.

“Armed with an elite fastball and great extension, he sports 119 strikeouts in 81 2/3 innings so far in his first pro season,” the trio dded.

It’s been a good week for Tolle. It started with his Triple-A debut Sunday. Taking the 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.

On Tuesday, MLB Pipeline’s updated rankings revealed Tolle to be among Boston’s best down on the farm. He joined shortstop Franklin Arias (No. 24), outfielder Jhostynxon Garcia (No. 78) and right-hander Kyson Witherspoon (No. 94) in the top 100.

Wednesday on NESN, WEEI Red Sox insider Rob Bradford praised Tolle by comparing him to former Cy Young Award winner David Price.

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.