Top Red Sox Pitching Prospect Payton Tolle Reacts To Uneven Triple-A Debut

Payton Tolle is one step closer to joining the Boston Red Sox following his Triple-A debut Sunday. Taking the mound for Worcester, Tolle went five innings in the 6-3 loss to the Buffalo Bisons.

The burly left-hander 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.

“We got punched in the face,” Tolle said after the game, according to Worcester Telegram & Gazette’s Tommy Cassell. “It’s been a little bit since we got punched in the face. And it kind of took some learning.” 

“Things happen sometimes,” WooSox manager Chad Tracy said, per Cassell. ”But I was happy with the way he pitched.” 

“(After) all the crap that happened there, I settled in a lot better,” Tolle added, according to Cassell. “Then finally in that fifth inning, I got to where we were on the offensive side of pitching, which was good.” 

Tolle, 22, 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.

“There’s going to be bigger challenges here (in Worcester) than in Greenville and definitely bigger challenges than in Portland, and there’ll be bigger challenges in Boston whenever he gets there,” Tracy said, per Cassell.

“So we’ll navigate those. There’s no doubt. But to see him respond in the way he did was the most important thing,” Tracy concluded.

Tolle is the Red Sox’s No. 3 prospect overall and top-rated pitcher in the farm system. He’s ranked No. 91 overall by MLB Pipeline.