It’s going to be an interesting season for the Boston Red Sox at the big league level, of course, but also down in the minors.
Boston finalized the club’s Opening Day roster on Wednesday without any big surprises. The Opening Day roster will feature Garrett Crochet, Brayan Bello, Sonny Gray, Connelly Early and Ranger Suárez. Early was the biggest surprise, but he logged a 1.59 ERA and 16-to-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 17 innings pitched. Early is kicking off the season in the starting rotation and Johan Oviedo is beginning the season in the minors.
Right now, Early is the poster boy for Boston’s pitching development program. He was a fifth-round pick by the Red Sox in 2023. Early made one professional appearance in 2023 at Class-A. He spent the 2024 season in High-A and Double-A. In 2025, he spent time in Double-A and Triple-A before making the jump to the big leagues down the stretch. Now, he’s beginning his third full professional season in the majors.
The Red Sox pitching machine is alive and well
May 21, 2025; Hoover, AL, USA; Oklahoma pitcher Kyson Witherspoon (26) pitches against Georgia in the second round of the SEC Baseball Tournament at the Hoover Met. | Gary Cosby Jr. / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Tolle is another poster boy for the Red Sox’s pitching program. He was a second-round pick in 2024. He didn’t make a professional appearance until 2025. It was a meteoric year and he went all the way from High-A to the majors.
The next guy to watch is going to be 2025 first-round pick Kyson Witherspoon. He didn’t make his professional debut in 2025 and will this season. Andrew Parker of Baseball Now reported that Witherspoon will be kicking off his professional career with High-A Greenville.
“Red Sox pitching prospects Kyson Witherspoon and Anthony Eyanson will be reporting to High-A Greenville to start the year,” Parker wrote. “Marcus Phillips will start the year with Low-A Salem.”
Like Tolle, Witherspoon and didn’t pitch professionally until the next season. Tolle and Witherspoon also both landed in High-A to kick off their professional careers after being high draft picks.
For Tolle, he made 11 appearances last year in High-A, six appearances in Double-A, three appearances in Triple-A and then seven appearances in the majors. A wild and meteoric year. The Red Sox dealt with injuries in the majors and needed an arm. It was a perfect storm for Tolle.
While Witherspoon has had a very similar start to his career so far, it would be surprising to see him in the majors in 2026, but nothing can be ruled out. At the very least, the start to his professional career has hints of what Tolle did last year. His performance on the mound is going to be what dictates whether he can move the system as quickly.