The Boston Red Sox have been one of the hottest teams in baseball since early June. We now have a large enough sample size to treat the prolonged surge as more than a flash in the pan and legitimate postseason contenders. However, they have a glaring lack of starting pitching depth that could derail their championship aspirations if not addressed sooner rather than later.
Boston boasts a strong rotation trio featuring certified ace Garrett Crochet; ascending 26-year-old Brayan Bello and one-time All-Star Lucas Giolito round out the three-headed monster. Alas, filling out the spots behind them has been a struggle due to a myriad of injuries. Luckily for the Red Sox, they have an in-house fix to the problem sitting in their farm system: Payton Tolle.
For more news and rumors, check out MLB Insider Robert Murray’s work on The Baseball Insiders podcast, subscribe to The Moonshot, our weekly MLB newsletter, and join the discord to get the inside scoop during the MLB season.
Top prospect Payton Tolle has the upside to be Red Sox's World Series skeleton key
Tolle is Boston's No. 2-ranked prospect and the top minor league arm they have. He began the 2025 campaign at High-A Greenville but has skyrocketed all the way up to 28th in the MLB Pipeline's top 100 list. His fast rise ostensibly knows no bounds, leaving the Red Sox with no choice but to at least consider promoting him, albeit potentially premature.
There's certainly risk to calling up Tolle, whether it be in the win-loss column or rattling a youngster's confidence too early in the developmental stage. His first Triple-A appearance left much to be desired too, raising the question of how much he can help Boston right now, if at all. Nevertheless, given the lack of better options, the risk-reward analysis of elevating him for the stretch run feels worthy of a dice roll.
Red Sox fans don't need to be reminded about the season-ending ailments to Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford and Hunter Dobbins. Meanwhile, offseason addition Walker Buehler is seemingly fighting to stay in the starting five each time he takes the mound. Trade deadline acquisition Dustin May followed up a rough club debut with arguably his best outing of the year, highlighting his volatility. Who can they depend on beyond Crochet, Bello and Giolito in October (assuming they get there)?
Across 18 minor league games at various levels (16 starts) this season, Tolle has fared well. He's 2-5 with a 3.31 ERA, 1.053 WHIP and 119 strikeouts across 81.2 innings of work. His fastball has become is weapon, thanks a combination of size and a high release point.