Connelly Early and Payton Tolle are giving the Red Sox major hope for the future originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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Coming off a brutal series loss to the Atlanta Braves, the Sox probably feel down in the dumps at the moment. However, there was one bright spot that came out of it for them: they have a young superstar ace duo in the making.
Connelly Early and Payton Tolle were the Red Sox’ top lefty prospects, and now have blossomed into true stars in the rotation. The duo are a big reason the Sox aren’t totally in tank mode.
Early has the No. 5 spot on lock
© Dale Zanine-Imagn Images
Early proved last year he was going to be a lock in the rotation in his three starts. This year, he started off strong, had a couple bad games, and then went back to business as usual.
Currently, Early has a record of 3-2, a 3.21 ERA, 45 Ks, and a WHIP of 1.196 over 47 innings pitched. In his last start against the Braves, who are the best offensive team in baseball, he posted five innings, where he struck out six batters while giving up two runs, both by solo home runs.
Tolle looks like the future No. 2 of the rotation
© Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Unlike Early, last season Tolle was very unreliable. So, it has been quite nice to see him dominate this season. He’s posted a 2-2 record, a 2.05 ERA, 30 Ks, and a WHIP of 0.783 over 30 innings pitched.
Against the Braves, he pitched eight innings, a professional best. He gave up two runs and got three Ks, and only walked one batter.
The duo could be the future core of the rotation
© Brett Davis-Imagn Images
So far this season, Tolle and Early have combined for 78 innings pitched, a 2.76 ERA, an 8.62 K/9, and a WHIP of 1.03. They both faced off against the best offensive team in baseball in their home stadium, and still managed to only give up four runs combined.
Tolle and Early have the chance to be special in Boston. They could be the future 1-2-3 punch with Garrett Crochet, as all three are around the same age.
Hopefully, they keep this dominance up, and the Sox get the best front end to a starting rotation for years to come.
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