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The Boston Red Sox selected a switch-hitting slugger and an intriguing left-handed pitcher to start their 2024 MLB Draft.
After taking Texas A&M outfielder Braden Montgomery with the 12th overall pick, the Red Sox took TCU southpaw Payton Tolle at No. 50 overall in Round 2.
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Tolle, 21, posted a 7-4 record with a 3.21 ERA in 14 starts for the Horned Frogs last season. The 6-foot-6, 250-pounder tallied 125 strikeouts and 37 walks through 81.1 innings of work and was named the Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year.
A solid two-way player in his previous two collegiate seasons at Wichita State, Tolle struggled at the plate (.182/.303/.327 slash line in 28 games) and focused more on his pitching after transferring to TCU.
MLB Pipeline ranks Tolle as their 87th-best prospect in this year's draft class. Here's their scouting report of the lefty:
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"Tolle uses his 6-foot-6 frame to create more extension (an average of 7 feet, 4 inches) in his delivery than most pitchers in this Draft. That enables his 90-92 mph fastball to play much better than its below-average velocity, and he shows the ability to run it in on lefties or bore it in on righties. His heater tops out at 96 and he uses it nearly three-quarters of the time, complementing it with an average sweeping slider that hovers around 80 mph.
"Tolle barely employs his low-80s changeup with mild fade. He's a below-average athlete with average control at best, yet college hitters can't touch his heater. He's a polarizing prospect whose proponents extol his fastball metrics while others see him as more of a multi-inning reliever than a starter."
Tolle marks the Red Sox' highest draft pick used on a pitcher since Tanner Houck was selected 24th overall in 2017.
