Story by
Top Red Sox prospect’s ‘weapon’ makes elite fastball appear 2 mph harder than actual speed
- Story by
- Top Red Sox prospect’s ‘weapon’ makes elite fastball appear 2 mph harder than actual speed
FORT MYERS, Fla. — Top Red Sox prospect Payton Tolle ’s four-seam fastball appears two miles per hour faster to hitters than its actual speed.
His heater averaged 96.7 mph in 2025, ranking in the 86th percentile in the majors. But it had a 98.7 mph perceived velocity .
Advertisement
His plus-2 mph differential was the highest of any Red Sox pitcher last year. Ten Boston pitchers had fastballs with averaged perceived velocities lower than their average fastball velocities.
“I think it’s extension mixed with a little bit of like the ride; ride fastball,” Tolle explained Saturday at JetBlue Park.
Tolle, who topped out at 100.8 mph last year, gets elite extension down the mound in his delivery. He ranked in the 99th percentile in that category (7.5) among major league pitchers in 2025. Naturally, the hitter has less time to react, making the pitch look faster.
“Just how my body works is that I have to get down the mound for me to get the best force out of my body,” Tolle said. “So I think it’s a good weapon to have.”
Advertisement
Aroldis Chapman (+1.5 mph) and Liam Hendriks (+1.0) were the only other two Red Sox pitchers last year with a perceived fastball velocity of one mile per hour or higher.
“It’s something that I’ve always had,” Tolle said. “My body needs to go down the mound more than the guy who’s going to be more rotational than me. It’s just kind of everybody’s going to move different. So finding out how you move and then kind of exploiting strength with it.”
The ride on Tolle’s fastball also is a factor, he said. His four-seamer “averaged 16.7 inches of ride and 6.7 inches of armside run” last year, according to Baseball America.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said he sees an opportunity for Tolle to pitch up in the zone more and also generate chase with fastballs above the strike zone .
Advertisement
“It’s got to be up in the zone,” Tolle said. “That’s where that perceived velocity, where the ride really kicks in. Kind of working top zone and up is where the swing and miss is going to come and along with a little bit of trying to get in on guys, too.”
Baseball America grades out Tolle’s fastball as an 80 (top of the scale) on its 20-80 grading scale.
Still, opponents hit the pitch hard in a limited 16 ⅓-inning sample size after his promotion to Boston on Aug. 29. They went 13-for-46 (.283 batting average) with a .565 slugging percentage and five extra-base hits (four homers and one double) against it. The expected batting average and slugging percentage (.252/.412) were better.
Breslow said Tolle mixing in his secondaries more often will help the fastball play better. The lefty threw his heater 64.1% of the time last season.
Advertisement
He sees that usage decreasing this season. He and the Red Sox staff have talked about it as “protecting the fastball.”
“So having something (else) that I could throw for strikes, it’s gonna have some velo difference and get guys just a little bit behind on the fastball,” he said. “It’s going to be big for me. So we’re just gonna keep repping it out.”
He feels his kick changeup can be an important secondary pitch for him this season after throwing it just 6.9% last year.
“It was kind of a spray and pray, like hopefully it goes over the plate last year and now it’s more refined,” Tolle said. “I kind of know where my misses are. The misses aren’t this big.
Advertisement
“Every day I was working on it and so it’s got good shape,” he added. “The shape is kind of where I want it to be. Now it’s just how often can we get this thing in the zone, try to generate some swing and miss and weak contact with it.”
Tolle is one of several candidates for the fifth rotation spot along with Johan Oviedo , Kutter Crawford , Patrick Sandoval and Connelly Early .
“I think that those are things that are kind of out of my control,” Tolle said. “I’m going to do what I can day in and day out, trying to get better, trying to work on the goals that I have for myself. If we look up at spring training and wherever we’re at, we’re going to be happy with it and know that in my heart of hearts that I worked hard and I gave myself the best opportunity that I could.”
More Red Sox coverage
Advertisement
Read the original article on MassLive . Add MassLive as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
