The Boston Red Sox need a fifth man for their starting rotation after demoting Walker Buehler, and it looks like they finally found him.
According to MLB insider Ken Rosenthal, the Sox will call up Payton Tolle, their No. 1 pitching prospect, and the No. 28 overall prospect in the minors.
“Red Sox top pitching prospect Payton Tolle expected to make his MLB debut tomorrow night at Fenway Park against the Pirates’ Paul Skenes, sources tell The Athletic. Tolle, a left-hander, was the team’s second-round pick out of TCU last year. Meteoric rise in first pro season,” Rosenthal revealed.
In addition to this, it was thought that Tolle would come up tomorrow, but he wouldn’t be facing Paul Skenes, as ESPN said it was Mike Burrows pitching. However, the site has updated, and Tolle will be facing off against the NL Cy Young favorite.
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Tolle has been a beast in the minors this year, with a 3.04 ERA, 133 strikeouts, a WHIP of 0.99, and 23 walks in 91.2 innings pitched across all three levels. He went from A+ all the way to AAA in one season, and now is at the majors. The last pitcher to see such almost as quick a rise is coincidentally the man he’s facing, Skenes.
While Tolle has to face Skenes, at least he will get the support of over 37,000 Fenway Faithful in his debut. Hopefully he puts up a good performance, so the Sox can rely on him for a potential postseason run.
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