MLB Executive Poll Recognizes Red Sox Pitching Prospect’s Top Tool

A Boston Red Sox prospect possesses a vital skill that could carry him to MLB success.

Payton Tolle shot up prospect lists before receiving a promotion in late August. Although he allowed 12 runs in 16 1/3 innings, the 23-year-old also showed upside with 19 strikeouts, eight in an impressive debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

People around the league have noticed one element of Tolle’s arsenal. Tolle received the most votes for the prospect with the best fastball in an MLB Pipeline Executives Poll. Jonathan Mayo noted that Tolle and Thomas White were the only left-handed pitchers among the 14 who received votes.

“With a fastball that averaged just under 96 mph — topping out at 101, according to Synergy — across all levels, Tolle used his elite extension and low release height to elicit an impressive 39 percent miss rate with the pitch,” Mayo wrote.

Statcast clocked Tolle’s average fastball velocity at 96.7 mph, residing in MLB’s 86th percentile. His pitch extension stood in the 99th percentile, but opponents still batted .283 against his heater in a limited sample.

The 6-foot-6 hurler could compete for a spot in Boston’s 2026 rotation, a crowded group featuring Garrett Crochet, Brayan Bello, Sonny Gray, Johan Oviedo, Kutter Crawford, Patrick Sandoval, Kyle Harrison and fellow newcomer Connelly Early.

Tolle wasn’t the only Red Sox pitching prospect highlighted in MLB’s poll. Early received 4.7 percent of the votes for best pitchability, a category led by Seattle Mariners southpaw Kade Anderson.