Red Sox Have Secret Weapon For 2025 Playoff Run, Scout Hints

Or perhaps more accurately, secret weapons, plural

Jul 22, 2019; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; A detail view of Boston Red Sox hat and glove laying in the dugout at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images | Kim Klement-Imagn Images

The Boston Red Sox are going to need all the pitching help they can get down the stretch.

Boston's rotation and bullpen have both performed admirably since the start of the summer. But the depth is beginning to be tested, and with the trade deadline past, the time is over for the Red Sox to make any impactful additions from outside the organization.

However, there could very well be help coming from within the organization, as the Red Sox have hinted with their most recent minor league promotions.

David Sandlin, Payton Tolle could be bullpen options down the stretch

Boston Red Sox prospect David Sandlin answers questions inside the Red Sox clubhouse at Fenway Park during Red Sox Rookie Development Week in Boston earlier this year. | WooSox Photo/Ashley Green / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Red Sox recently promoted a trio of exciting young pitchers to Triple-A: No. 3 prospect Payton Tolle, No. 5 prospect Connelly Early, and No. 11 prospect David Sandlin (rankings per MLB Pipeline).

Could any of them be impactful in the major league bullpen in September? A scout who has seen all three pitchers told MassLive's Sean McAdam that he thought Sandlin and Tolle had a chance to be factors this year, and singled out Tolle as a potential difference-maker.

"They both look like major league pitchers right now. I think you could move them up and put them in whatever spot you need and I think they would both produce. They’re both very, very good," the scout told McAdam.

"As a matter of fact, with the mindset that he has and as aggressive as he pitches with his fastball, I think Tolle would have the most success. That fastball is pretty special, and it’s not necessarily because of the velocity. It’s the life to it, the shape of it. It’s a very impactful pitch.”

Sandlin throws harder than Tolle on the radar gun, but he's right-handed and doesn't quite generate the type of induced vertical break (a.k.a. "carry") on his fastball the left-handed Tolle does. Plus, at 6-foot-6, Tolle can release pitches close to eight feet from the rubber, drastically cutting down on hitters' reaction times.

Of note, the Red Sox have already committed to using Sandlin out of the bullpen in Triple-A. Tolle, who arrived in Triple-A a few days later and has yet to debut, has worked either as a traditional starter or a "piggyback" reliever, effectively the second starter of the game, in all of his outings this year.

It will be fascinating to see if Sandlin and/or Tolle make an impact on this Red Sox season, because there's definitely room for them both to succeed in the bullpen as currently constructed.