The Red Sox are expected to select Tolle's contract from Triple-A Worcester to start Friday's game against the Pirates, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports.
After beginning the season at High-A Greenville, Tolle has breezed through the Red Sox's farm system while posting a 3.04 ERA and 0.99 WHIP over 91.2 total innings between three affiliates. With Richard Fitts sidelined with right arm neuritis, the 22-year-old Tolle will now get a chance to make his MLB debut during his first season as a professional ballplayer. He'll have a favorable matchup during his first appearance on the mound at Fenway Park against a low-scoring Pirates offense that ranks 30th in baseball with a .657 OPS. If the young lefty handles his first test in the majors well, he could be in line to make a few additional starts with Boston until Fitts returns.
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Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Candidate for call-up Friday
Rotowire
The Red Sox could promote Tolle from Triple-A Worcester to start or make a bulk-relief appearance in Friday's game against the Pirates, Christopher Smith of MassLive.com reports.
Boston has confirmed that Dustin May will start the second game of the series Saturday, and Lucas Giolito appears on track to start Sunday's series finale, but the club still has an opening in its rotation for Friday after Richard Fitts (arm) was removed from his bulk-relief appearance in Monday's game against the Orioles before landing on the injured list. Kyle Harrison -- who is already on the Red Sox's 40-man roster -- made an abbreviated three-inning start for Worcester on Tuesday to keep him in play for a promotion to the big leagues Friday, but Tolle has established himself as the organization's top pitching prospect this season and may have done enough to make a case for his first MLB call-up. After accruing a 2.93 ERA and racking up 116 punchouts across 76.2 innings through his first 17 outings of the season between High-A Greenville and Double-A Portland, the 22-year-old lefty has continued to shine since moving up to Worcester earlier this month. Through three starts at Triple-A, Tolle has accrued a 3.60 ERA, 0.87 WHIP and 17:2 K:BB in 15 innings.
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Red Sox's Payton Tolle: Bumped up to Triple-A
Rotowire
The Red Sox will promote Tolle from Double-A Portland to Triple-A Worcester during the upcoming week, Andrew Parker of Beyond the Monster reports.
Tolle had been promoted from High-A Greenville to Portland on June 22, but he quickly earned another bump up just over a month later. The 22-year-old lefty was electric during his brief time with Portland, posting a 1.67 ERA and 0.74 WHIP with 37 strikeouts over 27 innings in six appearances, including five starts. The Red Sox will continue to develop Tolle as a starter in the long haul, but if he continues to dominate at the Triple-A level, he could make his MLB debut as a reliever late this season if Boston believes he can provide a boost during a potential playoff run.
