Red Sox pitching prospect Payton Tolle learning analytics in pro baseball; describes himself as 'different animal' on mound
New Red Sox left-handed pitching prospect Payton Tolle has cracked the new SoxProspects top prospects list. The list was updated following the five-player trade between the Red Sox and White Sox that sent Garrett Crochet to Boston.
Prospects Kyle Teel, Braden Montgomery, Chase Meidroth, and Wikelman Gonzalez went to the White Sox in the swap.
Tolle was drafted by the Red Sox in the second round out of TCU back in July. The 6-foot-6, 270-pounder is now ranked as the No. 10 prospect in the Red Sox system, according to SoxProspects.
The new southpaw pitching prospect is getting acclimated to the Red Sox system, including the analytics Boston’s pitching program focuses on as they develop their pitchers. Tolle learning the analytics side of pitching has been one of the biggest differences so far early on in his pro career.
“I think one of the things is like, like the numbers and analytics and everything,” said Tolle on the “To the Show We Go”Baseball Podcast, presented by Beyond the Monster. “I’ve never been a big analytics guy. After an outing, I remember I would have to sit with our analytics guy and be like, okay, what does this mean?”
Tolle would add on jokingly, “I have no idea what I'm just reading; there's decimal points and no idea. I think learning that and learning how analytics are used has been something that's been really interesting to me. I'm still trying to understand it, but it's something that is starting to click a little bit.
“But then I think also the amount of detail that goes into every player's workout and the amount of attention to detail that each player has here is something that, in college, you can find yourself going through the motions every now and then. It's a 6 am workout, and it's like, okay, just get through this, get through that 8 am class, and then we'll get to practice. That's all we need to do. Versus now, you got to really focus on what you're doing to the workout, how that's going to help you throw harder, and how that's going to put you in a better position to be more efficient.”
Tolle projects anywhere from a left-handed reliever to a back-end starter, according to his SoxProspects scouting report. He offers a four-pitch mix, a fastball, slider, changeup, and curveball within his pitching arsenal.
The Oklahoma native describes himself as a competitor on the mound who transforms into a different beast when pitching.
“I think the one word that jumps out at me is like, I'm going to be really competitive,” said Tolle. “I turned into a different animal out there. It's a different guy that takes the mound and is talking to you right now. I've been told that by a few different people, but I think competitive. But I love trying to fill up the strike zone. I'm going to tell you everything that you guys want to hear. I guess this is probably what it's going to be. You know, I am going to have so much fun out there.
“I hope that if you guys ever went back and watched one of my outings, you had as much fun watching my outing as I had out there doing it. So, like, I have so much fun on the baseball field. My mom used to say it all the time: like, show people the reason you play and play with joy and just show them why you love baseball. And I think that's how I try to pitch. And I think it keeps me loose. It keeps me free. You know, it also kind of has the “little guy in the back of my head like, F, this guy, but you know, probably can't say that.”
Tolle projects to begin the 2025 season with High-A Greenville along with right-handed starters Jedixson Paez and Brandon Neely and left-handed starters Jojo Ingrassia and Noah Dean.
