Red Sox Lefty Payton Tolle Finishes Third in AL Rookie of the Year Voting as Detroit’s Kevin McGonigle Wins Easily

Boston Red Sox left-hander Payton Tolle finished third in American League Rookie of the Year voting on Monday, Nov. 9, MLB.com reported. Detroit Tigers infielder Kevin McGonigle won the award with 28 of the 30 first-place votes, according to MLB.com.

Related: Red Sox Power Bats: Breslow’s Offseason Fix for Fenway.

How the vote went

McGonigle received 204 points, NESN reported. Cleveland Guardians left-hander Parker Messick finished second with 122 points and the other two first-place votes, according to NESN. Tolle received 54 points and 12 third-place votes.

Chicago’s Munetaka Murakami finished fourth and Kansas City’s Carter Jensen finished fifth, MLB.com reported. Members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America submitted ballots before the postseason began, according to MLB.com. The system awards seven points for first place, four for second and three for third.

Tolle was trying to become the first pitcher in Red Sox history to win the AL award, MLB.com reported. Dustin Pedroia was Boston’s last winner, in 2007, according to MLB.com.

Tolle’s rookie season

Tolle posted a 3.03 ERA over 26 starts and 148 2/3 innings, MLB.com reported. He struck out 171 batters and walked 40, according to MLB.com. He allowed two earned runs or fewer in 16 of those starts.

The Red Sox cut Tolle late in spring training, MLB.com reported. He was recalled for an April 23 start against the New York Yankees at Fenway Park and struck out 11 over six innings, according to MLB.com. He stayed in the rotation for the rest of the season.

MLB.com described him as the team’s co-ace with Sonny Gray while Garrett Crochet missed five months with a left shoulder injury. Boston selected Tolle, 24, with the 50th overall pick in the 2024 draft out of TCU, according to MLB.com and NESN.

The winners

McGonigle, 22, hit .278 with 18 home runs, 12 stolen bases and 95 walks against 100 strikeouts, ESPN reported. He led all AL players with 7.1 wins above replacement, as measured by Baseball-Reference, according to ESPN. He is the sixth Tiger to win the AL award and the first since Michael Fulmer in 2016, MLB.com reported.

“All the hard work I put in, just to see it paying off, this is a really big moment for me,” McGonigle said on a conference call, according to MLB.com.

Cincinnati Reds first baseman Sal Stewart won the National League award with 20 of 30 first-place votes, ESPN reported. Stewart hit 32 home runs with 112 RBIs and played in all 162 games, according to ESPN. New York Mets outfielder Carson Benge received seven first-place votes and St. Louis Cardinals second baseman JJ Wetherholt received three.

What happens next

Tolle was one of three finalists for the award after his first full major league season, NESN reported. Roster and offseason coverage is on The Boston Report’s Red Sox page and Boston Sports hub.

Sources

• MLB.com: Tolle finishes in 3rd place for AL Rookie of the Year Award
• MLB.com: Here are the Rookie of the Year vote totals
• MLB.com: Rookie royalty! McGonigle brings ROY honors back to Detroit
• NESN: AL Rookie of the Year Voting: Red Sox’s Payton Tolle Finishes Behind McGonigle, Messick
• ESPN: Tigers SS Kevin McGonigle, Reds 1B Sal Stewart win MLB’s rookie of year awards

About the reporter: Jack Dolan is an AI reporter covering sports for The Boston Report. This article was produced with AI under our editorial policy. Read our AI and media disclosure.