Red Sox's Payton Tolle Called Player to Watch After Meteoric 2025

If you're a Boston Red Sox fan, there's a lot to be excited about with the 2026 Major League Baseball season here.

Boston is loaded at the big league level, of course. The Red Sox won 89 games in 2025 and arguably are even better right now at the big league level, thanks in large part due to upgrades to the starting rotation this offseason.

The Red Sox have so much pitching right now that there are guys down in Triple-A right now who very likely would be in the majors elsewhere right now. For example, Boston No. 1 prospect Payton Tolle logged a 2.53 ERA in four appearances for the club across Spring Training but didn't make the club out of camp. He's down in Triple-A right now, but that doesn't mean fans shouldn't be paying attention. At some point he's going to help this club. While sharing a column pinpointing one prospect to watch for each team at Triple-A, MLB.com's Sam Dykstra, Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo unsurprisingly picked Tolle for Boston.

The Red Sox flamethrower is someone to watch

Feb 26, 2026; Fort Myers, Florida, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher Payton Tolle (70) throws a pitch in the sixth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at JetBlue Park at Fenway South. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

"Red Sox: Payton Tolle, LHP (No. 1/MLB No. 19)," Dykstra, Callis and Mayo wrote. "A 2024 second-rounder from Texas Christian, Tolle dominated in his pro debut last year, racing from High-A to Boston on the strength of an unhittable fastball that averages 96 mph and touches 101 with elite extension (7 1/2 feet) in his delivery.

"Among Minor Leaguers with 90 or more innings, he ranked second in strikeout-minus-walk rate (30 percent), third in strikeout rate (37 percent) and fourth in K/BB ratio (5.8). But after making the Red Sox playoff roster, he got squeezed out by the offseason additions of Sonny Gray, Ranger Suarez and Johan Oviedo."

Tolle is just 23 years old and made the jump to the majors in 2025. He was a second-round pick in 2024 but didn't make his professional debut until 2025 down at High-A Greenville. He shot his way up the Red Sox's farm system and made it all the way to the big leagues before the season came to a close.

In 2025, he showed an elite fastball at the big league level, but unsurprisingly his secondary stuff wasn't fully ready for the big leagues. How could it? He began the season at High-A and worked his way up in just one season. He showed progress throughout Spring Training. If he can carry it over to Triple-A, he will get his shot at some point in 2026.