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Boston Globe
04-08-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Payton Tolle, the Red Sox' top pitching prospect, continues rapid ascent with promotion to Triple A Worcester
Drafted in the second round last year, Tolle opened the season with High A Greenville. Baseball America ranks him as the No. 49 prospect in the game. Advertisement 'The strides he's been able to make from a velocity standpoint, from learning different pitches, new pitches — it's just been crazy,' said Justin Willard , the Red Sox' director of pitching. 'Development is just purely learning. How quickly are they able to learn? It's been really cool to see how quickly he's been able to pick things up, add things to his arsenal, and really utilize them in-game right away.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up In addition to adding several ticks to his fastball and topping out at 98 miles per hour, Tolle has been working on a cutter that could replace his slider, improved his changeup, and is experimenting with a curveball, Willard said. What has impressed Willard most is that adaptability, taking side-session projects into actual games. Advertisement 'It's one thing to figure it out in practice, when the tension is lower,' Willard said. 'But can I do this when there's a batter in the box and I'm ripping and roaring, I'm competing? Can we do this? Can I learn this skill?' Tolle is the first Red Sox pitcher to reach Triple A or higher in his first complete season after being drafted since Craig Hansen (who went almost straight to the majors after going in the first round in 2005) and the first starting pitcher to do so since Abe Alvarez (a second-rounder in 2003 who made a one-start cameo in the majors in 2004). And then there is Garrett Crochet , who with the White Sox in 2020 went from the draft (University of Tennessee) to the pandemic-era alternate site to the majors in about three months. 'There are some guys who are just ready faster than others,' Crochet said. 'When you've got a power fastball, you can dominate the lower levels, from what I've heard. 'I've heard tremendous things about [Tolle]. I've heard he's built like an ox. Hopefully he'll be up here to help us this year, next year, whenever it is. From what I've heard, he's going to be a big boost to the staff.' Tolle is Crochet-like not only in build — 6-feet, 6-inches and 260 pounds for the ace, 6-6 and 250 for the prospect — but in demeanor. 'Obviously, a big human being, but also a big personality, especially when he gets comfortable,' Willard said. 'He's very much a leader and he's going to attract other people to him. He actually reminds me of someone like Crochet, where they can goof around but when the lights turn on, that's the guy I want. That's the bulldog.' Advertisement Crochet Day Crochet is good to go for his start against the Royals on Tuesday, after Will the extra downtime benefit him? 'We're about to see,' manager Alex Cora said. 'Maybe tomorrow his mechanics are off and we're going to be like, oh shoot, that didn't work. But I think as far as workload … he's in a good place physically.' Crochet has thrown 141⅓ innings. Last year, he totaled 146. Story time The Red Sox had the player of the week in the American League ( Trevor Story ), Triple A International League ( Jhostynxon Garcia ), and Double A Eastern League ( Max Ferguson ). Story batted .391 (9-for-23) with 3 home runs, 4 doubles and 8 RBIs in six games … Masataka Yoshida was out of the lineup for a third game in a row, all against lefthanded starters. Cora said he will play Tuesday and Wednesday … Hunter Dobbins said he will have surgery on his torn right ACL next week. Performing the operation: Dr. Dan Cooper , the Dallas Cowboys' team physician and a go-to specialist for those who have torn the same knee ligament twice, as Dobbins has … MLB commissioner Rob Manfred visited Fenway Park on Monday to meet with the Royals, part of his check-ins with every team over the course of the season. The Red Sox had their Tim Healey can be reached at
Boston Globe
24-07-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
A bit of dubious history for Red Sox rookie Roman Anthony
'Obviously, knowing the type of player I am and the type of hitter I am, I never want to strike out once, let alone four times,' Anthony said. 'As a young guy, it's all part of that learning curve. You go through those bumps in the road, but I'm not going to let it faze me. I'm going to continue to move on.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Does anything faze the 21-year-old rookie who, prior to Tuesday, reached base in 14 consecutive games? Advertisement 'I try not to let it faze me. This is such a hard game in particular. When you face guys like that, obviously you know what they're capable of,' said Anthony, who batted .353 with a .969 OPS during that streak. 'But I know what I'm capable of. The more I get to see guys like that, the better I'm going to get. I don't let two nights like that really throw me too much. It's a small sample size, and it's two of the best guys there are.' Related : Advertisement 'Those guys are two of the best at what they do in baseball,' Anthony said. 'They were both legit. . . . I'm excited to see those guys again, honestly.' Alex Bregman sticking to slow lane In a tight loss Monday night, Alex Bregman was deliberate in going from first to third — and stopping at third — on Anthony's double into the right-field corner. On Tuesday, on a grounder up the middle that required a diving stop by second baseman Bryson Stott , Bregman was out at first easily. Although he described himself as 'running free,' Bregman has been and will continue to be careful on the bases, he and Cora said. They view it as necessary to avoid reinjuring his right quad, which sidelined him for seven weeks. 'I still gotta be smart for the remainder of the year, but I hit 98 percent [on one play Monday] of the max speed that I ran all year,' Bregman said. Cora said: 'We'll play it safe the whole time. He's gotta be smart.' Bregman rates as a below-average runner, covering 26.2 feet per second when sprinting, according to Statcast. Average is 27. 'First of all, he's never been a fast runner,' Cora said. 'That's the reality of it. I'm not saying he's a station-to-station guy, but he's not a burner. So he understands when he has to go and when he needs to take it easy. We respect that and we'll keep him like that.' Advertisement Bregman was out of the lineup Wednesday, Kelly heads to minors Zack Kelly (right oblique strain) will begin a rehab assignment with High A Greenville on Thursday, Cora said . . . Liam Hendriks , who recently sought a second opinion regarding a core issue that is separate from the hip problem that has had him on the IL for two months, was prescribed 'a few exercises and stuff he needs to do in the gym and with the training staff, but nothing else,' Cora said. 'Hopefully this helps and moves the needle.' . . . J.C. Romero , a Red Sox reliever for part of 2007, threw out the ceremonial first pitch at Citizens Bank Park. After the Sox released him in June of that championship season, the lefthander signed with the Phillies, with whom he won the 2008 World Series and spent five seasons . . . The David Ortiz , to Single A Salem. Ortiz, 21, hit .273 with a .689 OPS in the Florida Coast League. Tim Healey can be reached at
Boston Globe
13-07-2025
- Sport
- Boston Globe
Growing status of Red Sox prospect Jhostynxon Garcia trending to a promising future
Garcia's ascent has been rapid, and his participation in a showcase event for the top prospects in baseball reinforced that sense. Advertisement 'You can't put a name on the sort of hard work I've been doing,' said Garcia, who went 0 for 2 with a pair of strikeouts as the AL prospects fell to their National League counterparts, 4-2. 'Just a few years ago, I was at a very low level, and now with all the work that I've put in, especially being where I'm at right now, it's very special.' Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up When the Red Sox signed Garcia as a 16-year-old out of Venezuela in 2019, he distinguished himself on the baseball field. His defensive style while gliding in the outfield and often catching the ball in stride at his hip — 'Like Willie Mays,' enthused Garcia — commanded notice. 'It's not even flair. It's being extremely confident. He was a natural defender,' said Red Sox assistant GM Eddie Romero. 'That — and he's one of the few guys that we saw hit a ball out of one of the professional stadiums – [caught the Sox' attention]. That also helps.' Advertisement Yet Garcia's hints of offensive ability as an amateur rarely showed up in games at the start of his professional career, and he moved deliberately through the lower levels of the minors. After he hit .230/.329/.374 in Single A Salem in 2023, he repeated the level to open the 2024 campaign. 'This guy was the fourth outfielder in Salem at the start of last year,' Red Sox farm director Brian Abraham recently observed with a shake of the head. But when the Sox started offering year-round training for prospects in Fort Myers, Fla., after the 2023 season, Garcia became an eager participant. He added significant strength in the 2023-24 offseason and also made some mechanical adjustments to drive the ball more frequently. That set the stage for a breakthrough season in 2024 — he hit .286/.356/.536 with 23 homers in a year split across Salem, High A Greenville, and Double A Portland. He tapped into previously unexplored power. This year, he's focused on improving his swing decisions, which have helped him to hit .277/.365/.472 with 12 homers — including a .292/.373/.532 line with nine longballs in 40 games since his late-May promotion to Triple A Worcester. In so doing, Garcia has reinforced the impression that he's made considerable progress in his career,his reputation now preceding him. 'He is taking some pitches where I'm like, 'OK, he swung at that last year. He would chase there,'' said WooSox defensive coach Iggy Suarez, who managed Garcia last year in High A Greenville. 'I think he's starting to realize and understand what pitchers are going to do to him. Because we always say, 'Hey, as much as we do our homework on the pitchers that we're going to face, they're doing the same thing against guys like you. This isn't the first time they're going to hear about the 'Password." They know who you are.'' Advertisement Garcia seems to be thriving with his growing status. While he's not seeking attention, he also seems very comfortable as his play and style garners notice. 'He's not hotdogging either. It's not like he's [making basket catches] trying to be flashy. He just has the ability to do it,' said Suarez. 'He embraces [playing with style]. I'm not saying he craves attention, but he's okay with it. The whole 'Password' thing, he's like, 'I kind of like it.' That's cool.' Indeed, he welcomes the idea of gaining notice — with a growing sense of excitement that he has a chance to become (to the best of his knowledge) the first player from the Venezuelan state of Apure to reach the big leagues. Garcia, whose younger brother Johanfran is a catcher in the Sox system, has openly discussed planting a flag for his region since his days as an amateur. He wears an arm sleeve with the flag of the state, and describes the idea of being the first big leaguer from there as 'definitely important.' The possibility of a call-up is growing ever more real. Garcia was added to the 40-man roster last offseason, and his performance this year in the minors has given the righthanded power hitter the look of a player with a chance to contribute soon. Advertisement 'You see a guy that could go up and help all 30 clubs on both sides of the ball — on the defensive side in all three [outfield] spots, at the top of the order and middle of the order with his bat-to-ball [skills] and with his [ability to impact the ball], and on the bases as well,' said Abraham. Garcia's outlook? 'We're ready. We're ready,' he said. 'We're just waiting for the call.' Alex Speier can be reached at
