Red Sox Starter Payton Tolle Has Significantly Tougher Competition

Red Sox top prospect Payton Tolle was impressive in his debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He was originally scheduled to face the Cleveland Guardians, but the team opted to push him back to work on more rest. He’ll be the starter for Friday’s series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Against the Pirates, Tolle was excellent. He threw 60% fastballs and generated nine whiffs. The pitch averaged 96.2 mph as he fed off the energy from the Fenway Park crowd.

“I was telling [Red Sox mental skills coach Jake Chaplin], I was like, I didn’t have to create any of my own energy,” Tolle said on the 310 To Left Podcast.

Friday will be a different story. Tolle will take the mound on the road for the first time as a big leaguer in Arizona. He won’t have the adrenaline that comes with a debut, nor the crowd behind him.

On top of that, the Diamondbacks’ lineup is much more formidable than the Pirates, especially against lefties. Pittsburgh has been one of the worst teams in the league against left-handed pitching this season, and Arizona has been one of the best.

Players on Arizona’s active roster combine for a 17.8% strikeout rate against left-handed pitchers, the second-lowest rate in the league. Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte is a particularly difficult out, striking out just 13.2% of the time and sporting a 136 wRC+ against lefties. Corbin Carroll, Geraldo Perdomo and Gabriel Moreno are also excellent hitters against southpaws.

Tolle was up for the task against the Pirates, but the Diamondbacks offer a new challenge. If the lefty performs as well as he did in his debut, Red Sox fans will only grow in their early admiration for the top prospect.