Payton Tolle, just 13 months removed from being drafted out of TCU, will make his major league debut Friday night when the Red Sox return for the start of a six-game homestand, MassLive.com confirmed.

Tolle is considered the team’s No. 1 pitching prospect and some have elevated him to the organization’s top prospect regardless of position.

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Making matters even more interesting is that Tolle will be matched Friday against baseball’s top young pitcher, Pittsburgh Pirates’ ace Paul Skenes, currently the favorite for the NL Cy Young Award.

Tolle is, for now, taking the spot of Walker Buehler, who was last week transferred from the rotation to the bullpen after poor performances as a starter.

Earlier in the week, with the Red Sox seemingly in need of a starter for Saturday, it had been announced that Tolle would be part of a tandem start for Friday for the Worcester Red Sox. That seemed to take Tolle out of consideration for a promotion.

But when the Red Sox revealed recently that they were undecided about Friday, that opened the door for Tolle.

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The lefty has made three starts for Worcester since being moved up from Portland, going 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 15 innings to go along with two walks.

He began the year at High A Greenville before moving up to Double A.

A second-round pick in 2024, Tolle, 22, is part of a new wave of pitching prospects in the Red Sox’ developmental system, a list that also includes fellow lefty Connell Early, righty David Sandlin (currently working out of the bullpen) and lefthander Brandon Clarke.

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic was first with the news of Tolle’s promotion.

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Read the original article on MassLive.