Two Former Horned Frogs Set to Participate in MLB Postseason

Tolle, the Friday night starter for the Horned Frogs in 2024, has had a peculiar journey to the major leagues. In his lone season with TCU Baseball, Tolle posted a 3.21 ERA with 81.1 innings pitched. With a 7-4 record over 14 starts, Tolle struck out 125 batters with an opposing batting average of .198.

After being drafted by the Red Sox in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft, Tolle quickly made his ascent in Boston's minor league system, only needing 18 starts to eventually make his MLB debut in late August.

In his first major league start against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Tolle left the game after 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, and 8 Ks.

While Tolle showed a lot of positive qualities in his debut, the lefty has since been moved to the bullpen after a few rough outings.

Lodolo, who was drafted with the seventh overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, has become one of the more consistent starting pitchers in the MLB when healthy. In four seasons with the Reds, Lodolo has posted a 4.06 ERA across over 75 major league starts.

In a recent start against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the lefty struck out 12 batters in only 6.1 IP while earning the win as well. The only reason the former Horned Frog didn't continue his start is because of a minor groin injury. Head coach for the Reds, Terry Francona, later said that the injury wasn't anything serious, and that Lodolo was cleared to throw on a normal schedule.

During Lodolo's three years at TCU, the lefty put up a 3.55 ERA over 258.2 innings. In 2019, Lodolo earned 1st Team All-Big 12 honors with one of the best performances by a TCU pitcher in a given season, with a 2.36 ERA over 103.0 innings.

The lefty racked up multiple accolades, including 2nd-team All-American, 2019 3rd-team All-American, 2019 Honorable Mention All-American, and 2019 2nd-team ABCA All-Midwest Region honors.

While both of the former Frogball pitchers might have different roles in the postseason, it doesn't negate the fact that TCU is a breeding ground for developing pitchers. Lodolo and Tolle have the potential to join the likes of Jake Arrieta and Brandon Finnegan as former TCU pitchers to make appearances in the postseason.