Payton Tolle Stats & Scouting Report

IP	16.1
ERA	6.06
WHIP	1.590
BB/9	4.4
SO/9	10.5

Full name Payton John Tolle
Born 11/01/2002 in Stillwater, OK
Profile Ht.: 6'6" / Wt.: 250 / Bats: L / Throws: L
School Wichita State
Drafted in the 2nd round (50th overall) by the Boston Red Sox in 2024 (signed for $2,000,000).

View Draft Report

School: TCU
Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 21.7
BA Grade: 45/High
Tools: Fastball: 55. Slider: 50. Curveball: 40. Changeup: 45. Control: 45.

Tolle was a standout two-way player for Wichita State for two seasons, and in 2023 he made the Baseball America All-America second team after slashing .311/.361/.538 with 13 home runs and posting a 4.62 ERA in 15 starts with a career-high 26.9% strikeout rate and impressive 5.3% walk rate. He transferred to Texas Christian for the 2024 season and focused more on pitching. He had a career year with a 3.21 ERA over 81.1 innings and 14 starts with a 36.4% strikeout rate and 11.2% walk rate. Tolle is a hulking lefthander with a 6-foot-6, 250-pound frame who throws with a funky and deceptive low three-quarters arm slot. He sits 90-92 mph with his fastball and will touch 95-96, but he gets excellent extension with the heater that causes the pitch to play up and miss more bats than expected. He’s a fastball-dominant pitcher who relied on his heater 75% of the time this spring and has lighter secondaries, including an 80-85 mph short-breaking slider and rarely used slower curveball and mid-80s changeup. Tolle’s immense physicality and sneaky fastball are his calling cards, but he’ll need to improve his command and secondaries to profile as a starter once he reaches pro ball. He fits as a top-four rounds talent.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

BA Grade/Risk: 60/Mild

Adjusted Grade: 55

Track Record: After two years at Wichita State as a power-hitting first baseman and lefthander, Tolle transferred to Texas Christian in 2024 and focused increasingly on the mound. A strong junior season at TCU—he went 7-4 with a 3.21 ERA and 37% strikeout rate—and evident aptitude to develop in a new program convinced the Red Sox to draft Tolle in the second round. He signed for a slightly over-slot $2 million and was Boston’s highest selection of a pitcher since 2017. Tolle combines distinct mound traits—a mountainous build and a funktastic delivery with incredible extension—and in his 2025 pro unveiling, he made huge gains in his velocity and pitch shapes. He overwhelmed minor league hitters with a 36.5% strikeout rate, which was fourth-highest among minor league pitchers with at least 80 innings, while zooming from High-A through the upper levels. Tolle emerged as the best Red Sox pitching prospect in years, and in late August, he made his MLB debut little more than a year after signing.

Scouting Report: Tolle leverages his immense 6-foot-6, 250-pound frame to propel himself down the mound and punch hitters in the face while averaging seven and a half feet of extension on his fastball. That elite attribute from a low three-quarters arm slot was hard on hitters when he sat at 91 mph at TCU, and the basis of dominance when he jumped to an average of 95 in the minors. He then averaged 96.6 mph in his big league cameo and hit triple digits for the first time in his life on a pitch that averaged 16.7 inches of ride and 6.7 inches of armside run. Tolle reshaped his secondary mix throughout the season, most notably with the introduction of an 88-90 mph cutter in August that immediately surpassed his gyro slider, kick changeup and curveball in usage. In the minors, he proved capable of missing bats in the zone with that entire mix, and his pitch shapes graded as average or better across the board. In the big leagues, he lacked command of his secondaries and struggled while leaning hard on a fastball he threw 64% of the time, too often down the middle. If Tolle can harness his secondaries—likely with a more balanced fastball/cutter/slider combination with occasional changeups and curveballs to righthanded hitters—in a way comparable to what he showed in the minors, he has the makings of a rotation workhorse.

The Future: While Tolle wore a jet pack in his 2025 ascent, he’ll likely open 2026 in the Triple-A rotation to better define and refine his secondary mix. His double-plus fastball gives him an obvious late-innings floor, but the immense developmental strides he made in 2025 suggest a midrotation—or better—ceiling. “This is hard for me to say, but this guy, he’s a Jonny Lester-type guy to me—can’t-miss, dominant, big leaguer,” Double-A Portland manager Chad Epperson said. “This guy’s going to be really, really special.”

Scouting Grades Fastball: 70 | Curveball: 45 | Slider: 50 | Cutter: 50 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 50.
BA Grade/Risk: 50/Very High.

Track Record: Tolle spent two years as a two-way player at Wichita State before transferring as a junior to Texas Christian, where he focused mostly on pitching. The decision paid off with a 3.21 ERA and 37% strikeout rate. The Red Sox drafted him No. 50 overall in 2024, their highest selection of a pitcher since 2017, and signed him to a slightly over-slot $2 million bonus. He didn’t play after signing, spending his first pro summer training at the team’s development complex.

Scouting Report: The 6-foot-6, 250-pound Tolle is a mountain on the mound who uses his size to create a distinctive lefthanded look. He generates enormous extension, releasing the ball more than 7 feet in front of the rubber, while his low three-quarters arm slot seems like a cannon fired from the middle of a fortress wall. His low release height of 5.5 feet combined with excellent ride on his 91 mph four-seamer, which touched 96, created fits for college hitters. Tolle’s slider has average or better potential if he can throw it harder. His changeup was below-average but flashed potential. He also has a cutter and curveball. Though he’s physically maxed out, Tolle has remaining developmental runway as he focuses on pitching.

The Future: If everything clicks, Tolle could be a midrotation starter. Otherwise, he could be a swing-and-miss reliever. He should open 2025 in High-A Greenville’s rotation and could reach Double-A midway through the season. Tolle could emerge as a big league option by the middle of 2026.

Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 40 | Control: 50.

Draft Prospects

School: TCU Commit/Drafted: Never Drafted
Age At Draft: 21.7
BA Grade: 45/High
Tools: Fastball: 55. Slider: 50. Curveball: 40. Changeup: 45. Control: 45.

Tolle was a standout two-way player for Wichita State for two seasons, and in 2023 he made the Baseball America All-America second team after slashing .311/.361/.538 with 13 home runs and posting a 4.62 ERA in 15 starts with a career-high 26.9% strikeout rate and impressive 5.3% walk rate. He transferred to Texas Christian for the 2024 season and focused more on pitching. He had a career year with a 3.21 ERA over 81.1 innings and 14 starts with a 36.4% strikeout rate and 11.2% walk rate. Tolle is a hulking lefthander with a 6-foot-6, 250-pound frame who throws with a funky and deceptive low three-quarters arm slot. He sits 90-92 mph with his fastball and will touch 95-96, but he gets excellent extension with the heater that causes the pitch to play up and miss more bats than expected. He’s a fastball-dominant pitcher who relied on his heater 75% of the time this spring and has lighter secondaries, including an 80-85 mph short-breaking slider and rarely used slower curveball and mid-80s changeup. Tolle’s immense physicality and sneaky fastball are his calling cards, but he’ll need to improve his command and secondaries to profile as a starter once he reaches pro ball. He fits as a top-four rounds talent.

Top 100 Rankings

Career Transactions

Boston Red Sox selected the contract of LHP Payton Tolle from Worcester Red Sox.
LHP Payton Tolle assigned to Worcester Red Sox from Portland Sea Dogs.
LHP Payton Tolle assigned to Portland Sea Dogs from Greenville Drive.
LHP Payton Tolle assigned to Greenville Drive from FCL Red Sox.
LHP Payton Tolle assigned to FCL Red Sox.
Boston Red Sox signed LHP Payton Tolle.