Payton Tolle’s quest to become the first pitcher in Red Sox history to win an American League Rookie of the Year Award fell short, as Boston’s charismatic lefty finished third in an AL race won overwhelmingly by Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle, who received 28 of the 30 first-place votes.
Tolle, who received 12 third-place votes, was attempting to become Boston’s first Rookie of the Year since Dustin Pedroia in 2007.
Another lefty pitcher, Cleveland’s Parker Messick, finished second in this year’s voting. Tolle came in ahead of Chicago's Munetaka Murakami and Kansas City's Carter Jensen for fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Third place or not, Tolle’s impact on the 2026 Red Sox was as sizable as he is.
Keep in mind that Tolle was a late cut for the Red Sox in Spring Training. By the end of the season, he was the team’s co-ace along with Sonny Gray while Garrett Crochet missed five months with a left shoulder injury. Tolle brought dominance and joy to the Red Sox every time he pitched, and in the days in between.
Rushed to the Majors for a seven-appearance, three-start cameo when the Red Sox ran short on pitching late in 2025, his raw ability shone at times, but it was clear he wasn’t quite ready.
It was a different story in ‘26, as Tolle took his game up several notches.
The Tolle show got underway on the night of April 23, when he was recalled for a start against the Yankees at Fenway. Over six innings, the power lefty allowed three hits and one walk while punching out 11. He remained in the rotation for the rest of the season.
It has been a fast rise for Tolle, who was the 50th overall pick by the Red Sox out of TCU in the 2024 Draft. The key to his breakout rookie season was improved command of his secondary pitches. Without question, Tolle leads with his heat. But having other pitches to keep the opponent off-balance proved to be huge.
There is red all over Tolle’s Baseball Savant page. He was in the 95th percentile for xERA (2.70), 90th in xBA (.199), 96th in chase percentage (36.4), 86th in K percentage (28.4) and 98th in extension (7.4 feet). In his 26 starts, Tolle allowed two earned runs or fewer 16 times.
In 26 starts, Tolle logged 148 2/3 innings, posting a 3.03 ERA to go with 171 strikeouts compared to just 40 walks. In all but four of those starts, Tolle allowed three earned runs or fewer.
During the process, Tolle turned into one of the game’s biggest characters.
Tolle elaborated on that during Monday’s Rookie of the Year Award show on MLB Network.
“Both of my parents have great personalities. I think I go to my [late mom Jina] and my dad [Chad]. They were just very open. We were very talkative household,” said Tolle. “So I think that a lot of that comes from them. And I've been told throughout the couple years now playing professional baseball, just go out there and be yourself, and no matter who it is. And I'm like, ‘All right, everybody's getting myself now.’ So whether they like it or not, I probably put some good quotes out there. But yeah, I try to have fun with it.”
The most fun Tolle seems to have on the field -- other than racking up strikeouts -- is hugging his teammates.
On one occasion, Tolle took it a step further, hugging Seattle’s Dominic Canzone as he was in the process of tagging him out on the first-base line.
“It just kind of happened,” said Tolle. “I was right there in front of him, and I was like, ‘Bring it in for the big one.’”
Then there was that September afternoon when Tolle decided to do a push-up between pitches after he fell down.
“Yeah, that's the first time and that’ll be the last time,” said Tolle. “That's as many [push-ups] as I’m getting out.”
Perhaps the thing that best symbolized Tolle’s ability to have fun and dominate at the same time was when he threw an immaculate first inning against the Royals on Sept. 13, grinning as he got ready to complete the rare feat with his ninth pitch.
Though the Red Sox had an abbreviated postseason run, getting swept out of the Wild Card round by the Yankees, Tolle’s personality resurfaced again during the World Series, when he took the role of MLB correspondent by storm.
Without Tolle’s consistency, it’s doubtful the Red Sox could have gone from 14 games under .500 (32-46) on June 24 to a sizzling summer, which helped the team finish 87-75.
“I’m proud of what we went through and how we responded,” Tolle said the night the season ended for Boston. “You just have to continue to learn from it and grow from it.”