Boston Red Sox select TCU LHP Payton Tolle in 2024 MLB Draft

TCU‘s Swiss Army knife Payton Tolle Is headed to the major leagues. The Horned Frogs starting pitcher has officially been drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 2024 MLB Draft.

Tolle transferred from Wichita State to TCU prior to the start of the 2024 season. With the shockers, while playing summer League Baseball, he split time between pitching and the outfield. However, at TCU, he was exclusively used as a starting pitcher, playing in a grand total of 14 games this season.

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At TCU, Tolle went 7-4 and finished the year with a 3.21 ERA. He also had one complete game to bring his collegiate career total up to three and one shutout, raising that tally to two. In those 14 games, the Horned Frogs left-handed pitcher was accredited with 81.1 innings pitched, giving up 57 hits, thirty runs, and 29 earned runs to go along with six home runs. Tolle also walked 37 of the 337 batters he faced and hit another seven. However, the lefty was a strikeout machine in 2024 with 125 strikeouts. In terms of batting as a designated hitter, he appeared in 28 games with 66 plate appearances, was accredited for 55 at-bats, ten hits, 13 RBIs, and two home runs, finishing in 2024 with a batting average of .182 and an OPS of .630.

What experts are saying about Tolle

Heading into the 2024 MLB Draft, MLB.com listed Tolle as the No. 87 overall prospect. His versatility as a starting pitcher, outfielder, and designated hitter makes him an intriguing prospect, to say the least. However, there are some things that the six-foot-six lefty will have to fine-tune in his new Major League home.

“One of college baseball’s best two-way players in two seasons at Wichita State, Tolle transferred to Texas Christian for 2024,” says MLB.com. “While his large frame and well-above-average raw power brought to mind former Horned Frogs slugger/lefty pitcher Luken Baker, Tolle surprisingly struggled at the plate and focused more on pitching this spring. Relying primarily on his fastball, he won Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year honors while striking out 105 in 69 innings and working his way into the top three rounds.”

“Tolle uses his 6-foot-6 frame to create more extension (an average of 7 feet, 4 inches) in his delivery than most pitchers in this Draft. That enables his 90-92 mph fastball to play much better than its below-average velocity, and he shows the ability to run it in on lefties or bore it in on righties. His heater tops out at 96 and he uses it nearly three-quarters of the time, complementing it with an average sweeping slider that hovers around 80 mph.”

“Tolle barely employs his low-80s changeup with mild fade. He’s a below-average athlete with average control at best, yet college hitters can’t touch his heater. He’s a polarizing prospect whose proponents extol his fastball metrics while others see him as more of a multi-inning reliever than a starter.”