Red Sox Can't Ignore Payton Tolle's Dominance, Newfound Weapon

Not that he was a "forgotten man" by any means, but to some degree, Payton Tolle got a bit lost in the shuffle early this spring.

Tolle's major league debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates in August was one of the most electric moments of the Boston Red Sox's season. But after he struggled down the stretch and was supplanted by fellow rookie Connelly Early in the playoff rotation, his odds of cracking the major league roster for opening day appeared slim.

If Tolle is going back down to Triple-A Worcester to start the year, though, he's not headed there without making the Red Sox feel guilty for it.

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Tolle's incredible Wednesday outing features filthy curveball

Tolle had his most dominant outing since his major league call-up in a Wednesday spring training game against the New York Yankees. In three scoreless innings, he struck out seven batters and only allowed two baserunners.

During that outing, the 6-foot-6 lefty dialed up his impressive fastball to 100.4 mph. But that wasn't the most impressive pitch on display -- a distinction that belonged to the curveball he was using to mystify the Yankees hitters.

Tolle didn't have any reliable secondary pitches, especially breaking balls, to pair with his elite fastball last season. On Wednesday, his curveball was the very definition of elite, as he picked up four strikeouts with it despite only throwing it eight times.

Manager Alex Cora knew that pitch could be an instant difference-maker for Tolle.

“If he’s able to (throw the curveball for strikes), he’s really tough to hit,” said Cora, per Alex Speier of The Boston Globe. “If we can do that over and over and over again, then we’ve got a really good pitcher.”

We learned earlier this week, thanks to a report from MassLive's Chris Cotillo, that the Red Sox's "preferred path" for Tolle is to start the year in the minors to get him some additional seasoning. If he's there for 46 days, Boston will also gain an extra year of control over his contract.

However, whenever it is that Tolle reclaims his spot on the major league roster, all eyes will be on that curveball. That will likely be a determining factor as to whether he can live up to his ace-level promise.