The Red Sox have a secret weapon in Triple-A
With the Red Sox in the thick of a postseason race, they could turn to a relatively unknown name to help bolster the back end of their bullpen.
The Boston Red Sox had one of the quieter trade deadlines, with their only significant moves being trades for veteran lefty reliever Steven Matz and the struggling Dustin May. Barring unforeseen circumstances, neither Matz or May look like they will be true difference-makers down the stretch. But, that does not mean that the Red Sox do not have additional reinforcements on the way.
One player who could find a way to make an impact on the Major League roster is Payton Tolle. Do not be alarmed if you have not heard of Tolle yet. In his first year of professional baseball after being picked in the second round of last year’s draft, the 22-year-old lefty has skyrocketed through the Red Sox minor league system. After just 11 appearances in High-A Greenville and six appearances in Double-A Portland, Tolle is now knocking on the doorstep of the Majors after a recent promotion to Triple-A Worcester.
Based on everything Tolle has done at each stop in the minors, it looks like he is ready to contribute at the Major League level. With a 6’6” frame that comes with elite extension and a fastball that has topped out at 98.9 mph in the pros, Tolle has legitimate swing-and-miss stuff. A 12.3 SO/9 and 1.67 ERA in Double-A show just how overpowering Tolle can be.
While Tolle’s line in his first Triple-A start (5.0 IP, 6 R, 5 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 3 SO) does not look overly-impressive, he allowed all his damage in the first inning before settling in and pitching four scoreless frames to round out his debut.
Evaluators around baseball have begun to take notice of Tolle’s rapid ascent. In Baseball America’s current top-100 prospect ranking, Tolle was named the No. 41 prospect in all of baseball. In MLB Pipeline’s most recent update, Tolle was named the No. 28 prospect. In Kiley McDaniels’ latest top-10 prospect by team rankings for ESPN, Tolle jumped from the No. 9 to the No. 2 prospect in the Red Sox system.
While it is clear that Tolle has dominated so far, it would still be a relatively unprecedented organizational move for the Red Sox to elevate a pitcher so soon after being drafted. Looking at the Red Sox bullpen, there are certainly opportunities for a guy like Tolle to force his way in if he continues to perform at an elite level now that he is in Triple-A.
Aroldis Chapman is a lock to continue closing games. Guys like Garrett Whitlock, Justin Wilson and Greg Weissert have been effective in late-inning roles and Matz looks like he can be relied on. After that, Jordan Hicks, who was part of the Rafael Devers trade in June, has had a disastrous start to his career in Boston with a 6.23 ERA in 14 appearances. Injury-wise, Justin Slaten is still working his way back after hitting the 60-day injured list in May with shoulder inflammation.
The Red Sox are in the thick of the American League Wild Card race. After Friday’s walk-off win over the Miami Marlins, they currently occupy the second Wild Card spot and are just one game back of the Seattle Mariners and 1 ½ games ahead of the New York Yankees, who are in the third and final spot. The Red Sox are also just five games back of the Toronto Blue Jays for the lead in the AL East, and with a three-game series still left to play against their Canadian rivals, the division is still within reach.
That is all to say that the top priority right now for the Red Sox should be to field their best 26 players every game. If Craig Breslow, Alex Cora and the rest of the Red Sox decision makers believe that Tolle can contribute to winning baseball at the Major League level, then there is no reason why he would not be considered for a late-season call-up.
Someone who was in a similar situation to Tolle is fellow Red Sox 6’6” lefty pitcher Garrett Crochet. During the shortened 2020 season, the Chicago White Sox were fighting to make the postseason and had Crochet skip the minors to go directly to the Major Leagues. In five regular season appearances out of the bullpen, Crochet pitched six scoreless innings and struck out eight while allowing just three hits, showing flashes of brilliance and helping the White Sox earn a Wild Card berth.
Ahead of Friday’s game, Cora was asked about his thoughts on calling someone up with no Major League experience to potentially contribute in the postseason. Here is his response via WEEI’s Tom Carroll.
“If you’re capable and you’re good, then you can come in,” Cora said. “Obviously there’s an adjustment period that they all go through, regardless if you get called up early in the season or late in the season. But if you’re capable, then you can help.”
The rotation is another spot where Tolle could make an impact with the Red Sox. MassLive’s Sean McAdam laid out how that could work on Friday.
“It might be more likely for Tolle to be utilized in a spot start for matchup purposes,” McAdam wrote. “If the Sox suffer a rainout and have to find a sixth starter, it’s not hard to envision Tolle being plugged in for a spot start before being returned to Worcester to finish out the season.”
The Red Sox are a team with postseason aspirations, and, in a wide open AL could make a run for the World Series. But, like the rest of the teams in their league, they have some significant flaws. The door is wide open for Tolle to force his way into high-leverage innings in the Major Leagues. That is pretty incredible for a player who is in his first season of professional baseball and began the year as a relative unknown in High-A.
If you want to see Tolle in action, you are in luck. He is expected to start tonight’s game for Triple-A Worcester against the Iowa Cubs at 7:08 p.m. ET/4:08 p.m. PT.