After Tommy John Surgery, Cole Tolbert's Competitive Spirit Burns Bright [Exclusive]

“Our color broadcaster, Braden Schneck, pointed out it out to me before my first start this year. It was 610 days in between my starts. I don’t think I’ve went that long of a stretch in my life without playing baseball. It feels really good to be in a uniform, be in the clubhouse, just to be back at the field every day.”

Selected in the 18th round of the 2024 Draft, it’s been a long road back for Cole Tolbert. A right-hander taken out of the University of Mississippi, Tolbert has missed most of the past two seasons with injury. Thankfully, unlike most pitchers drafted by the Red Sox in the last few years, Tolbert managed to get into a few affiliate games after being picked, making five appearances for the then Salem Red Sox. In his first taste of professional baseball, he wound up tossing 11 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs on 11 hits and six walks while also striking out 14 batters.

Then, his career would end up hitting a standstill, as Tolbert would need Tommy John surgery in March of 2025. The injury and subsequent recovery process prevented him from pitching in a game until May 9, 2026. Because of that, Tolbert treasures his professional debut.

“When I showed, the Red Sox knew I had been throwing over the summer. Coming in they knew that I was built up and ready to go. I feel like it gave me a good insight of getting to spend that last five or six weeks in Salem,” Tolbert explained about his post-draft process.

The right-hander admitted that for him, the pros were completely different from college. Whereas he once had class in the morning and then practice in the afternoon, with pro ball he would be arriving at the field around noon and staying there until almost midnight. The attention to detail was another major difference for him, no longer dealing with homework or studying and instead just showing up to the field, putting his uniform on and going to work. There’s more care for the body and recovery than when he pitched in college. He attributes a lot of his success in 2026 from that time learning about the flow of professional baseball.

“If I didn’t get to go play in ’24, I would have been a pro ball player for 18 months and never set foot on a field.”

The right-hander didn’t find his competitive spirit dwindling despite the injury keeping him from the mound. Rather, he found other ways to keep the mindset needed as a pitcher while also tuning it up to a new level. He attributes that to Nick Murray, the rehab pitching coach in Fort Myers, for creating such a competitive environment for the rehabbing pitchers. Tolbert wasn’t alone in his rehab process, joined by Matt Duffy, a member of the 2023 draft class.

“I had surgery the same day as Matt Duffy, so we threw with each other near about every day. Right down to your simple catch play, we tried to compete."

The duo would attempt to see how many times they could hit each other in the chest while warming up before moving the competition into other areas of their rehab. Of course, even while creating their own competitions, Tolbert admitted that there was nothing that could recreate standing on the pitcher’s mound in a game.

The stretch of time from when he underwent surgery until he could officially start throwing again was the roughest part for the right-hander. During that window, he reminisced of how it would be six days of just lifting, running and not being able to touch or even look at a baseball. To Tolbert, that stretch of rehab felt like “an eternity” as he worked his way back onto the field. He did admit that once he got a ball back into his hand and was able to start throwing again, things began to speed up for him.

In 2026, Tolbert has returned to the mound where he’s made 13 appearances and given Salem 39 innings either as a starting pitcher or in a piggyback role. He struck out 43 batters in that span while allowing just 14 earned runs, good for a 3.23 ERA. Even more impressive is the fact opponents are hitting just .199 against him on the season and slugging just .287. He attributes the success to attacking his strengths.

“Getting in the zone early. Hitting’s one of the hardest things to do in professional sports so why not make it harder by starting 0-1, 0-2, 1-2 to guys? In college, coach Bianco [Mike Bianco] at Ole Miss showed a stat to us. I won’t be perfect on this [number], but batters who start 0-1 hits in the low-.100s and batters who start 1-0 hits in the mid-.300s. The first pitch strike is a major role in pitching. Attack the zone early,” Tolbert explained.

And yet, regardless of the success he's having, the best part of 2026 for Tolbert has been his ability to get back out there and play the sport he’s always loved.  

“I’m a baseball lover. The day I stop playing baseball, I’ll never stop watching it. I’m a fan of the game in itself. Just being back at the ballpark, again I spent 610 days away from the game. When you love it as much as I do, that can be really tough. Just being back, every day to day at the ballpark has been the highlight of mine.”

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