With rise of the Big Three, pitchers now get spotlight when it comes to Red Sox prospect pipeline
One year later, members of that class have made huge leaps. Tolle, who was taken as the No. 50 overall player in last year's draft, now ranks among the top 50 prospects in the entire sport (Baseball America has him at No. 48).
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Tolle already featured a special fastball at TCU, even though the pitch averaged just 91.5 m.p.h., thanks to incredible extension and a low arm slot that flummoxes hitters given the carry on the pitch. Now, those unusual traits remain in place, but Tolle is sitting in the mid-90s and touching 99, dominating with his heater.
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Tolle also has shown an ability to work with his sweeper, slider, and changeup (a developing pitch that is critical for his repertoire) in the strike zone, creating the potential for a mid-rotation starter. Between High A Greenville and Double A Portland, he has a 3.25 ERA with a 40 percent strikeout rate (third among minor league pitchers with at least 60 innings) and just a 7 percent walk rate.
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First of already many Double-A strikeouts for Payton Tolle
— Portland Sea Dogs (@PortlandSeaDogs)
'It's hard not to see a guy with the kind of swing-and-miss stuff as a lefthander, and the power that he has, as a top [prospect],' said Sox farm director Brian Abraham.
Lefthander Brandon Clarke, a 2024 fifth-rounder, has also vaulted in the rankings thanks to the development of a wipeout sweeper to complement a fastball that touches triple digits. It remains unclear if he can stick as a starter or if he'll emerge as a late-innings power arm but, either way, he looks like an impact arm. Some rankings now have him in the sport's top 100.
🔥Brandon Clarke gets his 1st K for the Drive
— Greenville Drive (@GreenvilleDrive)
With Clarke and flame-throwing teenager Juan Valera (working back from elbow soreness) in High A, starting pitching prospects Tolle, Connelly Early, and David Sandlin in Double A, and Tyler Uberstine and Shane Drohan having returned from past health woes to impress at times in Triple A Worcester, the Sox system features more starting pitching depth than it has in years — and more is on the way.
The top two selections by the Sox in the 2025 draft,
The Sox are positioned to use pitchers as trade chips. Already, the team dealt
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What about position players?
With Campbell having graduated from prospect status and Anthony and Mayer close to doing so, and with Kyle Teel and Chase Meidroth having been traded in the Garrett Crochet deal, the team's position player group has been thinned considerably — but still features standouts.
Shortstop Franklin Arias, hitting .295/.348/.407 as a 19-year-old with Salem and Greenville, is widely viewed as the top positional prospect in the system. As one of the youngest players in the South Atlantic League, his game stands out.
Franklin Arias with a double to clear the bases!! 😤😤
— Greenville Drive (@GreenvilleDrive)
He demonstrates great baseball instincts and smooth defensive actions that suggest an ability to stick at short despite a lack of speed. At the least, he looks like a hitter whose great bat-to-ball skills — his 10 percent strikeout rate is the lowest in the system for anyone above the Dominican Summer League — and all-fields line drive approach should translate to hitting for average in the big leagues.
If he can improve his swing decisions and plate discipline — rather than striking out, he expands the zone and makes weak contact — he has a chance to add enough doubles and homers to be an above-average everyday player. He'll require considerable development to get there, and has struggled over the last six weeks (.174/.242/.284 in last 28 games), but still may get pushed to Double A this year based on his overall skill set.
'He's such a good, natural, pure hitter that it doesn't surprise me that he's having success and he is the type of hitter we like to move,' said Red Sox director of hitting Jason Ochart. 'He's such a quick learner and hard worker that anything you throw at him, he takes it and runs with it.'
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Outfielder
The Password ➡️ The Futures Game
Jhostynxon Garcia has been named to the 2025 All-Star Futures Game roster! ⭐️
— Red Sox Player Development (@RedSoxPlayerDev)
The same could be said of outfielder James Tibbs, acquired in the Rafael Devers trade — though notably, Tibbs is also getting time at first base in Portland.
There have been other intriguing, if less than dazzling, performances. Infielder Mikey Romero has shown improved power in Portland, though his swing decisions have been inconsistent. Outfielder Justin Gonzales, after a slow start as an 18-year-old in Salem, has found his form, hitting .319/.390/.507 in his last 19 games.
OH MY GOD JUSTIN GONZALES.
The Boston Red Sox prospect with his second Single-A home run and it was DEMOLISHED.
Apparently a crazy bat flip, too, which has the crowd upset that an 18-year-old monster just stuck a dagger in them.
— Hunter Noll (@Hunter_Noll)
And in the Dominican, 17-year-old shortstop Dorian Soto is hitting .343/.375/.500 with all kinds of possibility for his future.
What about Kristian Campbell?
In some ways, the most fascinating storyline in the Sox system has somehow been below the radar for the last month. Campbell was the Minor League Player of the Year in 2024, flying through the system with an overhauled offensive approach that resulted in a startling breakout. The Sox went all-in on Campbell's emergence, awarding him an everyday job on Opening Day and
But after a great April, Campbell struggled in May and June, resulting in a
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The early returns have been mixed. Campbell, who's played mostly first for the WooSox, is hitting .200/.373/.323 with a 34 percent strikeout rate. He's not chasing pitches but is whiffing on pitches in the zone.
KRISTIAN CAMPBELL. 3 RUN SHOT TO TAKE THE LEAD 😤
— Worcester Red Sox (@WooSox)
Fairly or not, he became the standard-bearer for Red Sox player development and, obviously, the Sox have a lot riding on whether he can restore his promise. There's still plenty of work to be done.
Alex Speier can be reached at
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New York Times
27 minutes ago
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New York Times
27 minutes ago
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