On Sunday, the Boston Red Sox made a massive move in their system. According to Andrew Parker of Beyond the Monster, the Red Sox promoted top pitching prospect Payton Tolle to Triple-A Worcester.
The move is incredibly aggressive. Tolle spent just six games (five starts) in Double-A. He only needed 27 innings ot prove himself ready for the next level. The left-handed pitcher posted a 1.67 ERA, .144 BAA, and 0.74 WHIP in his short tenure with the Sea Dogs. He struck out 37 batters and only walked seven.
Tolle was the Sox's second-round draft pick last season. He didn't make his organizational debut until this year. His ascent has been beyond anything most people could've hoped for, and if he keeps his current pace, Red Sox fans could see him sooner than they ever imagined.
Possibly the most important thing to note about Tolle's short time in Double-A is his work on his secondary pitches. Tolle seemed to focus heavily on the breaking stuff, not needing to add much to his high-90s fastball. That work seems to be paying off. The pitcher started racking up strikeouts with the slider.
Red Sox promote fast-rising top pitching prospect Payton Tolle to Triple-A
Tolle has also had something interesting going on with his workload. The Red Sox seem to be giving him shorter pitch counts recently. There have been questions as to whether they might try to use Tolle in the bullpen before the end of the season.
Their usage of him recently could be a way to see how Tolle does in shorter game situations. It will be intriguing to see how he is used in Triple-A over the next month. Could we see him in Boston before the end of the year? It's happened before — the White Sox promoted Garrett Crochet, another massive, flamethrowing lefty, to the majors in his first year in professional baseball.
It's important to note that Tolle is only nine innings away from matching his career-high in college. The lower pitch counts could also have to do with that.
However, we try to stay positive here, and Tolle has dominated minor league baseball. He absolutely has a fastball that could play out of a major league bullpen right now.
The top pitching prospect in the system is now a 47-minute drive away from Fenway Park. Get excited.