Payton Tolle or Cam Schlittler? Red Sox Lefty Has Case for AL East's Young Ace

Who would you take?

Aug 13, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Boston Red Sox pitcher Payton Tolle (70) pitches to the Toronto Blue Jays during the third inning at Rogers Centre. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Cam Schlittler of the New York Yankees is arguably the No. 1 favorite for American League Cy Young Award favorite, which meant he also became the default answer for best young pitcher in his division.

Yes, Schlittler is having a phenomenal season. But so is another pitcher who came up in the second half of last year, and who arguably has a brighter future: Boston Red Sox emerging young star Payton Tolle.

After Tolle lowered his ERA below three with a dominant eight-inning performance on Thursday, we thought it was at least worth raising the question. Who you got for the rest of their young careers -- the slightly more proven Schlittler, or the younger, arguably nastier Tolle?

Payton Tolle or Cam Schlittler for next decade?

There's hardly any doubt that Schlittler is having the better season, with a 2.21 ERA to lead all qualified AL starters, a sub-one WHIP, and 4.8 bWAR. His ERA+ was 189 as of Thursday; Tolle's will rise from the 128 it was at entering the day, but still won't come close.

But you have to do some projection here, and when you go to Fangraphs and sort all pitchers with at least 100 innings this season by Stuff+, Schlittler ranks seventh in all of baseball. Tolle? One spot ahead at No. 6, with a Stuff+ of 117. Ahead of him are Jacob Misiorowski, Chris Sale, Tarik Skubal, Christopher Sánchez, and Eury Perez.

The extreme extension Tolle gets, particularly from the left side of the mound, give him a high floor as long as he stays healthy -- and his 6-foot-6 frame (with what appears to be a lot more bodyweight than Schlittler) gives him a relatively good chance of staying healthy as well.

And remember -- Tolle is two years younger than Schlittler. Both gained a ton of velocity after entering pro ball, but Tolle's rise through the minors was far quicker after his second-round selection in 2024.

What makes the comparison fun as well is that both of these guys are part of a growing wave of pitchers who throw three types of fastballs -- four-seamers, sinkers, and cutters. Schlittler is the poster child of the trend, as he throws them and almost nothing else, while Tolle still mixes in his curveball and changeup a combined 12% of the time.

Schlittler is the safe answer at this point in time. But from an extreme Red Sox bias point of view, we might have to side with Tolle for the next decade.

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