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Red Sox Decision on Top Pitching Prospect Fuels Speculation About Debut This Week

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Sean Deveney | Last updated Sep 8, 2025 8:34 PM ET

For the Red Sox, one top minor-league pitcher--Payton Tolle--has already been shuttled to Boston somewhat ahead of projections. Based on a move the organization made over the weekend, a second could follow, as the team's Triple-A affiliate in Worcester held Early out of scheduled a weekend start.

Early, a fifth-round pick in 2023, last pitched on Sept. 2, giving him six days off. He was only promoted to Worcester in August after a strong showing at Double-A Portland. He has gone 3-1 with a 2.83 ERA in six appearances for the WooSox, with 19 hits and 11 walks allowed in 28.2 innings pitched.

Before that, at Portland, Early was 7-2 with a 2.51 ERA.

As Worcester manager Chad Tracy said, via MassLive, “They’re probably dealing with stuff up there and they said they just don’t want him to pitch and end up throwing a full game. “And so he’s staying available to them. Very similar to what we’ve done with [Kyle Harrison]. So nothing imminent at this point, but we couldn’t have him throw.”

What Happened to the Red Sox Pitching Rotation?

The Red Sox started the season with a rotation that looked to be as deep as it had been at least five years. Boston had brought in Garrett Crochet to be the ace and had Lucas Giolito returning from last year's elbow injury. The team signed Walker Buehler, too, to join a young trio of Kutter Crawford, Tanner Houck and Brayan Bello.

More than that, the team had solid depth options in reserve: Hunter Dobbins, Richard Fitts, Coooper Criswell, and Quinn Priester, who was viewed as expendable with so much depth on hand and dealt to the Brewers. (Priester is 12-2 with a 3.25 for Milwaukee.)

Meanwhile, attrition has taken its toll on the Red Sox rotation. Crochet, Brayan and Bello are still standing, Buehler was waived because he was ineffective and the rest of the starters were injured. That led to the calling up of Tolle.

And it could now lead to Early getting a look.

No Starter Set for Wednesday vs. A's

According to MassLive's Chris Cotillo, the Red Sox have Crochet and deadline acquisition Dustin May slated to go in Oakland on Monday and Tuesday, and, "What happens beyond that is anyone’s guess."

The Red Sox are off on Thursday and will begin a three-game set with the Yankees in Boston next weekend. On Friday they'll have any number of choices--Tolle, Giolito, Bello--but because the team is set on giving Tolle extra rest as a rookie, he won't pitch on Wednesday.

As things stand, it's TBD. It could be Early.

Said manager Alex Cora: "There’s a lot of things going on right now, so we just have to wait and see.”

Scouting Connelly Early

MLB Pipeline ranks Early as the No. 6 prospect in the Red Sox organization. ESPN ranks him No. 7, and the SoxProspects.com site ranks him eighth.

No one projects him as a future ace, but his value as a potential workhorse rotation member is widely recognized. Writes Pipeline:

"Early can't overpower hitters but has the feel to provide consistent strikes without catching too much of the plate. He throws his fastball just one third of the time, just enough to keep hitters honest and set up his secondary pitches, and his heater may need more velocity or life at higher levels. He's probably not more than a back-of-the-rotation option, but he may have the highest floor among Red Sox starting pitching prospects."

And from SoxProspects.com:

"Changeup is a legit, MLB-quality pitch, and fastball and sweeper both project as usable offerings. Increased fastball velocity raises his ceiling, while he still maintains a relatively high floor. Still need to see if he can hold velocity gains deep into starts and if he can continue to improve his sweeper and/or slider, as those lag behind his changeup. Has the athleticism and strike-throwing ability teams look for in starting pitching prospects."

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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