Who is he and where did he come from? He’s Payton Tolle from Bethany, Oklahoma. At 6-6 and 250 pounds, Tolle has the look of the quintessential midwestern flamethrower, plucked from the oil fields to show off his stuff under the bright lights of the big city. You know, this kid: Tolle was selected by […]
Who is he and where did he come from?
He’s Payton Tolle from Bethany, Oklahoma. At 6-6 and 250 pounds, Tolle has the look of the quintessential midwestern flamethrower, plucked from the oil fields to show off his stuff under the bright lights of the big city. You know, this kid:
Tolle was selected by the Red Sox with the 50th pick in the draft, just last year. The Sox hadn’t used such a high pick on a pitcher since Tanner Houck in 2017, after years of the Chaim Bloom-led front office pursing a deliberate strategy of swerving pitchers in the early rounds of the draft. It isn’t hard to see why Craig Breslow and company liked Tolle so much. Tolle was named the Big XII Pitcher of the Year in 2024, after he put up a 3.21 ERA for TCU, striking out 125 batters in 81.1 innings pitched.
While Tolle would certainly love to become the best pitcher ever to come out of Bethany, Oklahoma, that will actually be a tall ask. That’s because Bethany was also the hometown of Allie Reynolds, who made six All-Star appearances with Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees, threw two no-hitters, and led the league in strikeouts twice and ERA once before becoming a successful oil man and an early leader in the labor fight for players’ rights.
What position does he play?
He’s a starting pitcher… but he wasn’t always one. Before dominating on the mound for TCU, Tolle excelled as a two-way player for Wichita State, slashing .311/.361/.538 with 13 homers in 2023.
Is he any good?
He’s currently the 40th-ranked prospect on Baseball America’s list, so the hope is that, yes, he will be good. Jake Roy, who knows a lot more about this stuff than anyone else who covers the Red Sox, raves about his fastball:
When the Red Sox drafted Tolle, his fastball sat about 91 mph. At times this season, he’s sat 95 mph and maxed out at 98 mph. He also uses his huge frame to stride down the mound, averaging over seven feet of extension. On one recent pitch, he released the ball 7’10” down the mound. That’s roughly 13% of the distance between the rubber and the plate. When I read 7’10”, I thought it was a mistake.
He’s also creating good vertical movement on his fastball. This, combined with the release height in part due to how low on the mound he gets, makes the pitch incredibly flat.
Some comparable pitches include Joe Ryan’s fastball. Ryan has a lower release and less extension, but similar velocity. His fastball is one of the flattest among starting pitchers and holds a 15.9% swinging strike rate.
Milwaukee Brewers prospect Jacob Misiorowski debuted recently. He averaged 99 mph with his four-seam fastball. Tolle can’t do that, but the two have similar release points and vertical movement. Misiorowski’s vertical approach angle is in the 98th percentile among starting pitchers and has been excellent so far. Extreme velocity certainly helps in that department, but the extension and shape contribute as well.
Tl;dr. Just give me his 2025 stats.
91.2 IP, 133 K, 68 H, 23 BB, 10 HR, 3.04 ERA
Show me a cool highlight.
It seems like he’s given up the dream of being a two-way player, but man I’d like to see this in a Red Sox uniform, just once:
But since he’s up here for his arm, not his bat, here is retiring 15 AAA hitters in a row less than a week ago:
What’s he doing in his picture up there?
Pitching way better than Tom Selleck ever has, while matching him stache for stache.
What’s his role on the 2025 Red Sox?
The Red Sox currently have an opening in their rotation, and I suspect he’ll get a few starts down the stretch, regardless of how tonight goes. But this is his first season of professional baseball and there will be concerns about his workload, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him moved to the bullpen, even if he looks great in his first few outings. If everything goes right, he could be the 2025 Sox version of what David Price on the 2008 Rays.
Category: General Sports
