Red Sox Year in Review 2026: Looking Back at Payton Tolle’s Season originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Arguably no individual player captured the Red Sox‘s turnaround to make the postseason in 2026 more than Payton Tolle.
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Coming into the season, as a former second-round pick who started the year in Triple-A, Boston didn’t have much higher expectations than Tolle becoming a potential back-end rotation pitcher, with a chance he could be moved to the bullpen if necessary. With bigger names like Sonny Gray, Garrett Crochet, Brayan Bello and Ranger Suarez leading the way, there wasn’t a lot of room for Tolle to prove himself.
But Tolle wound up surpassing even the most modest expectations. He didn’t just break out in the wake of Crochet’s long-term injury — he immediately became one of the best pitchers in the American League.
Here’s a look back at Tolle’s remarkable 2026 season, becoming a fan favorite with the Red Sox.
MORE: Looking back at Aroldis Chapman’s 2026 season for Red Sox
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Tolle didn’t come completely out of nowhere in 2026. As a former TCU star who was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Year in 2024, he landed with the Red Sox as a second-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. Just how quickly he was MLB-ready, though, was a pleasant surprise.
After reaching Triple-A by August 2025, Tolle was called up to the Red Sox last September, making a few starts late in the regular season before making the team’s AL Wild Card roster as a bullpen option. To open 2026, Tolle was considered a top pitching depth option for Boston, starting the season in Triple-A to continue developing a bit before he got another MLB shot.
It didn’t take long. By the end of April, with the Red Sox off to a poor start and Crochet ruled out with an injury soon after, Tolle was called up on Apr. 23 to pitch against the Yankees.
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He made quite the first impression, striking out 11 in six innings of work.
From there, Tolle’s spot in the rotation was secured, and he became one of Chad Tracy’s top trusted arms on what became a strong Red Sox pitching staff. Tolle carried a sub-3.00 ERA into June and was a reliable arm to go at least five innings on a nightly basis — he out-performed virtually all expectations by becoming one of the best left-handed pitchers in baseball.
By the time the Red Sox had turned their season around, Tolle was a significant reason, and he earned the trust of Tracy to pitch in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card series.
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Still just 23 years old, Tolle is now in place to remain one of Boston’s top arms for years to come. With his jolly personality, he also quickly became a fan favorite, always a candidate to have the most wholesome moment of the night or crack a joke.
