Red Sox May See Another Future Ace Debut This Year, Insider Hints

The Boston Red Sox's pitching development infrastructure has come a long way since Craig Breslow arrived in town.

It helps to be able to pull off a trade for Garrett Crochet, but there have been so many breakouts on the farm, from Payton Tolle to Connelly Early to even Yhoiker Fajardo, that it feels as though the Red Sox have enough rotation options to easily last them through the next decade.

Tolle, the 22-year-old lefty flamethrower, stole the show this season by racing to the majors after making his professional debut in High-A in April. This season, there's one Red Sox farmhand that everyone seems to be circling as a candidate to repeat the feat.

Will Kyson Witherspoon make major league debut in 2026?

Kyson Witherspoon, the Red Sox's first-round pick this summer out of the University of Oklahoma, followed the same plan as Tolle, attending the team's intensive rookie camp in Fort Myers instead of pitching in games to end his draft year. His stuff is explosive, though, and Boston fans are anxiously anticipating his pro debut.

On Sunday, Mac Cerullo of the Boston Herald did a roundup of Red Sox prospects to watch this season, and hinted that Witherspoon might have a chance to make it all the way to the big leagues by the end of the year, echoing a common sentiment among those close to the team.

"Last season Tolle established himself as one of the breakout prospects in all of baseball, going from High-A to the majors in his first full professional season," Cerullo wrote. "Now Witherspoon will try to follow in his footsteps.

"The 21-year-old boasts a fastball that has topped out at 99 mph as well as two quality secondary pitches, his cutter and slider. Between his advanced arsenal and impressive control, Witherspoon projects as someone who could rise quickly through the minors."

The Red Sox don't project to have a need by the end of the season that would easily facilitate Witherspoon's debut, but we saw this year that the injury bug can strike at a moment's notice. But in a more likely scenario, Witherspoon could pitch so well that the team decides it has to give him his shot.

It's not an indictment of Witherspoon if his debut doesn't come until 2027, but the amount of people hinting he could fly through the minors next year is sure suggestive.

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