Less than six months after making his professional debut, Payton Tolle is on his way to the big leagues.
The Red Sox are calling up their top pitching prospect to the majors to start Friday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, multiple club sources confirmed. The 22-year-old left-hander will make his big league debut in the midst of a pennant race, and he’ll take the mound Friday night against Pirates phenom Paul Skenes.
Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was first to report Tolle’s promotion.
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 @TheAthletic. Tolle, a left-hander, was the team’s second-round pick out of TCU last year. Meteoric rise in first pro season.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) August 28, 2025
Tolle’s big league call-up caps off a meteoric ascension for the rookie, who was drafted in the second round of last summer’s MLB draft and didn’t make his professional debut until this spring. Tolle was initially assigned to High-A Greenville out of spring training and quickly earned promotions to Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester. He also went from unranked to No. 40 on Baseball America’s Top 100 Prospects Rankings.
In 20 appearances across the three levels Tolle posted a 3.04 ERA with 133 strikeouts in 91.2 innings, and after allowing two home runs in the first inning of his Triple-A debut, he’s since allowed just one run in his last 14 innings with Worcester.
Now he’s big league bound after just three outings with the WooSox.
Tolle’s call-up comes as the Red Sox enter the home stretch of what should be a tight playoff race, and the rookie will be asked to fortify a rotation that has seen its depth heavily depleted by injury. Few have debuted in such a high profile spot, as Tolle will not only take the mound at a crucial juncture of Boston’s season, but he’ll debut on a Friday night against Skenes, the premier young pitcher in baseball and the National League Cy Young Award favorite.
First pitch Friday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m.
