Freakish Prospect Soars Up Red Sox Rankings, Eyeing No. 1 Spot
Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer remain the consensus top prospects on all Red Sox prospect rankings. And with Kristian Campbell no longer considered a prospect, all three young stars could be off most lists within the next two months.
When that happens, someone else will move into the No. 1 spot. Enter: Payton Tolle.
A second-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, Tolle entered this season near the bottom of the top 10 on most Red Sox prospect rankings, including those published by SoxProspects.com. The TCU product was ranked behind fellow pitcher Luis Perales and infielder Franklin Arias, who soon will replace Anthony and Mayer as the top position prospect in Boston’s system.
However, Tolle, who’s been outrageously good this season, moved into the No. 3 spot on SoxProspects.com’s July rankings update, behind only Anthony and Mayer. As such, he’s primed to take over as the new top prospect in the system once Anthony and Mayer graduate from prospect status.
Featuring freakish extension and an overpowering fastball, the 6-foot-6 left-hander posted a 3.62 ERA and 14.3 strikeouts per nine innings across 11 appearances (10 starts) for Single-A Greenville before his recent promotion to Portland, where he struck out 22 batters and gave up just three runs over his first 14 innings.
Ranked 49th overall by Baseball America, Tolle still must work on his secondary pitches before he can be considered a true blue-chip prospect. But he’s a tantalizing arm and arguably the highest-upside prospect in the Red Sox farm system.
Here’s the full summary about Tolle on SoxProspects.com (it’s unclear when it was written):
“Potential quality fourth starter, but projection is fluid given the strides he has made since joining the organization. Ceiling of a number two starter. Could get close to the majors quickly using just his fastball, but secondary stuff needs work to reach his potential, and focus on development of those pitches will likely slow down his development and lead to more mixed results in some outings. Outlier fastball gives him a high floor when combined with his frame and ability to mix in three secondary pitches.
“Lacks a go-to out pitch right now among those secondaries, with all three grading out as fringe-average to average, but all have improved as the year has gone on. Changeup has improved considerably since he signed and flashes more upside than his breaking balls at times, but in other outings his slider has served as his primary out pitch. Cutter plays well off his fastball as a pitch to change eye level and generate weak contact. Could stand to gain more separation between the two breaking balls, as they blend together at times.
“Very unique pitching prospect given his size and delivery, especially given that he only began to focus exclusively on pitching in his junior season. Massive extension to the plate grades near the top of all pitchers in pro ball. Type of arm that you want to bring into the player development system with some standout traits to build on.”