Red Sox pitcher Payton Tolle could debut at Fenway Park this weekend.
The Red Sox took their first two games in Baltimore behind notable pitching performances, first in an all-bullpen showing on Monday, then behind eight powerful innings from Lucas Giolito on Tuesday in a 5-0 win that allowed them to finally gain some ground on the first-place Blue Jays.
The Red Sox still have Brayan Bello and Garrett Crochet coming up on the mound on in Baltimore before returning to Fenway with some big decisions against the Pirates.
Richard Fitts, who went 4.0 innings on Monday and appeared to be slotted in as the fifth starter going forward, suffered an injury in that game and could be out for a while. Thus, the Red Sox's ongoing quest for pitching depth continues. Boston can use Dustin May on Friday, but when Saturday rolls around, they will need a new starter-and there are more calls for that starter to be 2025 second-round pick Payton Tolle.
The Red Sox do not want to rush Tolle, of course. But he has shot up through the team's farm system, from High A to Triple-A this season, and has excelled at every stage. He was brilliant in his last start in Worcester, when Tolle threw 63 pitches over 5.0 innings, allowing one hit and one run, with no walks and nine strikeouts.
His fastball averaged 96.5 mph, and he is showing the kind of swing-and-miss stuff that could translate to the major leagues. He has a 3.60 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 15.0 innings at Triple A. And with the Red Sox running out of options to fill the fifth slot in the rotation, there is more momentum for Tolle to make the leap.
Already, we've seen injuries KO Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford, Hunter Dobbins, Patrick Sandoval, Cooper Criswell and now Fitts. Walker Buehler has been relegated to the bullpen and is not coming back out. The Red Sox need another guy.
Tolle makes sense. The Red Sox could bring up Kyle Harrison from Worcester, and give him a shot after he arrived from the Giants in the Rafael Devers trade and was immediately sent down. Harrison threw 3.0 innings on Tuesday for the WooSox, so he'd be going on three days rest on Saturday.
Prospect Connelly Early, who is 1-2 with a 4.08 ERA in Worcester, is another possibility.
But a Tolle debut at Fenway in late August could ignite the staff.
"What's most important is that he stays present, works hard between outings, and remains focused on his pitching goals every time he steps on the mound," Red Sox senior director of player development Brian Abraham told MLB.com. "That said, we have no doubt that when the time comes for him to help our Major League club, he will be fully prepared."
As for Fitts, he is hopeful that his injury won't be too big a problem, and he could either work his way back into the rotation or the bullpen. He has been diagnosed with right arm neuritis, though, and that can be problematic. The good news from the team is that the nerve issue is in his biceps, not his elbow and does not involve his ligament-which would likely mean surgery.
"Anything nerve freaks me out a little bit just because I've never had anything like that before, so yeah, I don't know," Fitts said.