Red Sox's Payton Tolle Reveals Thoughts On Being Sent To Triple-A originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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The Boston Red Sox have great pitching depth, and while one of their highly regarded prospect pitchers is in the big leagues, another is in Triple-A.
Payton Tolle is the Red Sox's No. 1 prospect, and Connelly Early is the No. 3 prospect. However, it is Early who is in the big leagues to start the year. Early is slated to start on Sunday, partly because the Red Sox need Johan Oviedo in the bullpen since Ranger Suarez and Brayan Bello are not fully built up yet.
Tolle pitched in seven big league games last season and had a 6.06 ERA. Early was much better in the big leagues last season, and seems to be ahead of Tolle in his development. Tolle spoke on starting the year in Triple-A after having a shot at being in the big leagues.
“It does sting, because you want to play at the highest level all the time,” Tolle said on Thursday, per MassLive's Chris Cotillo. “But at the same time, it’s what’s going to be beneficial for me. I’m just excited to get going on the year and start pitching against other hitters in games that actually mean things again.”
“Our rotation is really freaking good. The pitchers we’ve got up are really freaking good.”
Tolle noted that he thought he did well in spring training and competed hard, but he knows there are things he needs to improve.
“I thought (I) competed. I thought (I) did what (I) could do,“ Tolle said. ”I think I made it a hard decision for them. When it comes down to it, I’ve got stuff I can work on. There’s a lot of things I can do to make myself a complete Major League Baseball pitcher. It’s what they thought was best for me and I think it’s gonna be a good opportunity for me, too, to come down here and work on what I can. I’ve got a few things with the off-speed pitches."
Tolle, Early and Oviedo were in a battle for the final spot in the Red Sox's rotation to start the year. Early and Oviedo emerged as the top candidates, and Early will get the first crack at starting in the rotation. However, it's very possible that the Red Sox would have started him in Triple-A as well if Suarez and Bello were ready. The Red Sox have been clear in saying they do not want Early or Tolle coming out of the big league bullpen, and would rather they be stretched out as starters in the minor leagues, which is likely why Early is starting, and Oviedo is in the bullpen right now.
Tolle had a 2.53 ERA in 10 2/3 innings of work this spring. He is still the top prospect in the organization and should get his shot in the big leagues again soon.
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