Left-handed pitcher Payton Tolle will complete his journey from Class A to the major leagues in one season Friday night, when he makes his debut for the Boston Red Sox.
MLB.com has Tolle ranked as Boston’s top pitching prospect, and the organization’s No. 2 prospect overall. He’ll be facing the Pittsburgh Pirates, who are scheduled to start ace Paul Skenes (8-9, 2.07 ERA).
Boston selected Tolle, 22, out of TCU in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft. He began this season with High-A Greenville, moved to Double-A Portland and was promoted to Triple-A Worcester on Aug. 4.
Tolle is 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA in three starts for Worcester. He recorded 17 strikeouts and walked two in 15 innings at the Triple-A level, where his fastball was clocked as high as 98 mph.
A spot opened up in Boston’s starting rotation last week when Walker Buehler was moved to the bullpen after an inconsistent season as a starter.
The Red Sox enter the weekend in second place in the American League East, 3 1/2 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays.
