WORCESTER—Payton Tolle’s road to the major leagues was short but winding.
Last year was his first as a pro. He began it pitching in High-A Greenville, moved up to Double-A Portland, was promoted to the Triple-A WooSox and finished the season in Boston.
“It’s not that it was really hard to process,” Tolle said of his climb up the ladder, “but there were times when it got to be a little bit of a whirlwind.”
The likable lefty made friends wherever he went last season and made some more last Saturday when he joined Nick Sogard at Polar Park for the fourth annual WooSox Foundation Honors celebration.
The only thing rude about Tolle was his awakening when he made his Triple-A debut here on Aug. 10 versus Buffalo. He retired the first batter he faced, then the Bisons loaded the bases. Riley Tirotta subsequently cleared them with a grand slam.
Five batters into his WooSox career Tolle was behind, 4-0, with an earned run average of 81.00.
“There was a moment when that ball landed after the grand slam,” he said, “when I thought…hmm, I’m here in Triple A…and I think I’m supposed to be here, and then four innings after that I’m thinking that, yeah, we’re here and this is totally where I’m supposed to be.”
Tolle wound up making three appearances for Worcester before taking the turnpike to Boston. By the time his Triple-A season was over that four-figure ERA was down to a more attractive 3.60.
That might be a record for the fastest descending ERA. One record Tolle definitely set was the shortest stint with the WooSox before being called up to the majors. He was here for just 19 days.
At 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds, Tolle is a very big man. He’s also a young man, having turned 23 last month. As if those attributes are not enough, Tolle is left-handed. Those qualities also lead to high expectations.
“I think I’ve sort of gathered in all the lessons I’ve learned from 2025,” he said. “I know what I want to work on the most, and now it’s taking all of that, working on it, and pushing everything.
“We’ve had so many learning processes and outings that I can look back on now and see how this is how I’m going to be better in 2026.”
It used to be that there were more 100-year-old people than 100 mph fastballs. More people live to be 100 now than before, but not many. Almost every major league pitcher, or prospect, either throws 100 or is getting there.
Tolle got there.
There is nothing delicate about a 100 mph fastball but there is a delicate balance between throwing that hard and putting it in the right place.
“I think everybody’s looking for more velocity,” he said, “but now it’s continuing to throw those high velocities but control it a little bit better. I saw that when I got up to Boston. It’s all here, everything is in the right place, but now we’ve got to figure out how to execute it better.
“I think there absolutely is a tradeoff.”
When he pitched college ball at Texas Christian, Tolle discovered that the harder he threw the more batters he fanned, and the more he walked.
“It’s a give and take to figure out what your 100 percent is, how to get to where 100 percent is now 100 mph, and now how am I going to locate this the best.”
The give and take was pretty good in Worcester. Tolle struck out 17 and walked two in 15 innings.
His visit to the Bay State coincided with one of the coldest Decembers we’ve had in years. As part of the trip, Tolle has become a hockey fan. He had previously seen an NHL game in Las Vegas, then saw the Bruins play at The Garden before the Polar Park event.
“I’m becoming a hockey fan,” he said. “Seeing the game in Boston, where everyone’s a homegrown hockey fan, was incredible. I think the hardest thing to do in sports is hit a baseball, but the hardest sport to play is hockey.”
Hitting a baseball seems to get harder every year, it seems, especially when someone like Tolle can throw them 100 miles per hour.
Bill Ballou covered the Red Sox for the Worcester Telegram from 1997 through 2018. He has covered pro hockey in Worcester since 1994 and currently does a weekly column for the Worcester Red Sox. Ballou can be reached at vetgoalie@aol.com
