Last year, the Boston Red Sox selected Payton Tolle out of Texas Christian University in the second round of the MLB Draft.
A lot of people were intrigued by his size and extension off the mound. However, not many could've imagined he would turn into what he would turn into barely a year in the system.
Tolle has turned into such an asset that he's considered by some (such as SoxProspects) to be the top prospect in Boston's system (not counting Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer, who are both in the majors and about to graduate from prospect status). The hype has led to Tolle being involved in a lot of trade talks — not serious talks as far as we know, but by fans. He is one of the main prospects added to trade ideas due to his value being so high.
His trade value is truly impressive, and there's often no such thing as prospects being untouchable. Everyone is available for the right price. With that in mind, Tolle should be as close to untouchable as anyone in the minor leagues can possibly be.
The Red Sox need to keep No. 4 prospect Payton Tolle out of trade talks
At this time last year, Tolle was brought in as a 6'6" lefty with ridiculous extension off the mound, which made his 91 MPH fastball look much scarier (especially to lefties). One year later, and Tolle is still that massive human being with ridiculous extension. Now he's regularly sitting around 97, sometimes reaching 99. That has to be one of the more absurd one-year improvements I've ever seen. His fastball would be plus-plus in the majors right now. Even if he doesn't develop another pitch much more, that fastball would allow him to be an effective reliever for the Red Sox.
5 strikeouts for Payton Tolle last night! pic.twitter.com/KRFwVELX2I
— Red Sox Player Development (@RedSoxPlayerDev) July 20, 2025
That's the thing, though. He is developing other pitches. In his last game, Tolle struck out five batters over five innings of one-run ball in Double-A. All five strikeouts came on secondary pitches.
Tolle's improvements are terrifyingly rapid. It's gotten to the point where he could end up in Boston by the end of this season, and no one would be shocked.
Tolle has a 3.19 ERA and 1.064 WHIP in 15 games (13 starts) between High-A and Double-A. He has 106 strikeouts compared to 18 walks in 67.2 innings. The 22-year-old even has a save.
Fans want instant gratification, especially after Boston has missed the playoffs in the last three years. The Red Sox can make moves without trading the best pitching prospect this system has seen in a long time, though. There really isn't much on the market that the Red Sox couldn't get without using Tolle. Figure out other ways to acquire these players.
Boston fans have clamored for a homegrown ace since Jon Lester left. Keep Tolle around, and they won't have to wait much longer.