Baseball: TCU’s Payton Tolle makes MLB debut for Boston Red Sox

Former TCU left-hander Payton Tolle received the call to make his MLB debut and took the bump for the Boston Red Sox on Friday evening. An All-American and the 2024 Big 12 Pitcher and Newcomer of the Year, Tolle faced the Pittsburgh Pirates, firing five and one-third innings while striking out eight batters and walking two. Despite Boston’s 4-2 loss, it was a successful MLB debut for Tolle, who limited the Pirates to three hits and two runs on 84 pitches. A second-round selection in the 2024 MLB Draft, Tolle became the 48th baseball player in TCU history to appear at the MLB level and the most recent player since Spencer Arrighetti (April 10, 2024).

Since his selection in the 2024 MLB Draft, Tolle has ascended through Boston’s MiLB system, posting a 3.05 ERA over 20 games (18 starts) with 133 strikeouts and 23 walks over 91.2 innings pitched in 2025. Tolle, who has held opponents to a .203 batting average and owns a 0.99 WHIP in the minors, started this year with the High-A Greenville Drive before receiving promotions to Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester. At the AAA level, Tolle earned a 3.60 ERA with 17 strikeouts and just two walks over 15 innings pitched (three starts).

Tolle transferred to TCU after starting his collegiate career at Wichita State, where he earned All-American honors as both a pitcher and a hitter. While Tolle didn’t have a major impact at the dish with the Horned Frogs, his arm more than made up for it, as he went 7-4 with a 3.21 ERA over 14 starts. The 6-foot-6, 250-pounder fired 81.1 innings at TCU, striking out 125 batters, walking 37 and holding hitters to a .198 batting average. Tolle was the highest-drafted Horned Frog baseball player since Luken Baker was taken by the St. Louis Cardinals in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft. Since 2013 TCU has had 65 draft picks by 22 different organizations. TCU has produced 27 top-10 round draft picks including three first-round selections.