How has rookie Payton Tolle’s talent and energy elevated the Red Sox?
Yahoo Sports senior MLB analyst Jake Mintz and Jordan Shusterman highlight rookie pitcher Payton Tolle who is becoming a rotation anchor for the Boston Red Sox. Hear the full conversation on the "Baseball Bar-B-Cast" podcast - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts , Spotify or wherever you listen.
Video Transcript
Red Sox have had a weird couple of weeks, kind of fallen back to earth, but still playing good baseball.
They have one heck of a win last night, extra innings.
Jarren Duran hits a grand slam.
What a moment for him.
Do I wanna talk about that?
No, I don't.
I wanna talk about the starter, Peyton Tully, who if, Parker Messick didn't exist, you'd be like, "Well, is this guy Rookie of the Year, at least in the conversation?"
Parker Messick is also awesome, and I look forward to talking about him more as the season winds down.
But Peyton Tully, is someone I talked to earlier this season, wrote about him this week, and I just cannot get enough of this guy.
He is-- I don't know how much you've gotten to talk to him since he made his debut last year, but his story itself is, is incredible.
From Oklahoma, two-way guy, Wichita State, transfers to TCU, focuses on pitching, surges up draft boards, and makes the big leagues a little over a year after he's drafted last year, in, first as a starter and then against, and then in the bullpen.
He pitches in the postseason.
Red Sox rotation doesn't have room for him to start the season, but a couple injuries, of course, to Crochet and Bello sucks, and Ranger Surez has some injuries, and here comes Peyton Tully.
He comes up Connelly Early, his good friend, he has the last rotation spot to start the year, but then he gets hurt and then gets traded, and now it's, it's just the Peyton Tully show.
And, you know, last night wasn't necessarily his best start.
Allows two runs over five and a third.
Didn't allow a hit for, a hit for the first four innings.
But what a fun pitcher to watch.
What a- Oh.
What an interesting look.
He is, as, as I would describe him, he is Paul Bunyan mixed with Ron Swanson, and that's what he is off the field, but that's what he is on the field too.
He is having as much fun as, as you're really going to see.
The background with Peyton Tully, for those who, who don't know, that has really defined his story and his, his sense of self and his personality is he lost his mom, to cancer a, a couple years ago, and just the person that his mother Gina was, it just sounds like an, an unbelievable human being and, and it-- he continues to carry on her personality in everything that he does.
And when you, when you kind of watch him, you're like, "Is this, like is this a bit?
Is this..." It's like, no.
You talk to Peyton Tully, this is what he is like all the time.
Just someone who totally appreciates the, the joy of being a big leaguer and is just so freaking talented and is clearly just scratching the surface of, of what he's capable of.
He's this gigantic left-hander, elite extension, elite fastball, added a sinker this year, and just, just a really fun pitcher to watch.
And so as we kind of-- And he's just really important, right?
As the Red Sox are gonna make this push.
At this point, it doesn't sound like we're counting on Garrett Crochet whatsoever, certainly in a starting pitching role.
So they're gonna go into the postseason, he's gonna be one of their top three starters, you know, with Sonny Gray, with Ranger Surez.
So how that would line up exactly, whether it's in a wild card series, whether it's in a DS, we'll see.
But he is, he's so important to, to what they do and, I look forward to seeing him continue to get better and maybe get some Rookie of the Year votes.
We'll see.
but I, I'm just such a big fan of this guy and, and obviously on the field but also off the field.
He had that wild USA presentation where he shaved his chest during spring training.
I was actually there for that.
I was standing outside the Red Sox clubhouse and the roars were deafening.
I mean, it was- Yeah.
That is a man who can command a room.
Yeah.
I'm sort of bummed that he has to play for the next 15 years because I want him on the broadcast already.
Yeah.
Yeah, no, I mean, he's, But, but we're, we're getting-- The, the great thing about people with Peyton Tully is that you, especially pitchers, there's, they got plenty of time- They got time to entertain us even when they're- Yeah even when they're not, even when they're still playing.
So Peyton Tully, cheers to you.
Excited to see what the rest of his season and career, becomes.
