Kyle Teel was getting ready for his junior season at the University of Virginia at this time last year.
He’s now prepared to set up camp with the Red Sox for his inaugural journey to spring training.
And owing to a fantastic start with Boston, the 21-year-old catcher has already put himself on the fast road to the big leagues despite only having played in 23 games of professional ball.
Teel stated at the Red Sox Rookie Development Program last week, “I just try and control what I can.” Naturally, I want to make it up as quickly as possible. And that’s what I want. What matters most to me, though, is simply doing the best I can every day, working hard, and managing what I can.
In the 2023 MLB Draft, Teel was chosen by Boston with the 14th overall choice. As a result of his impressive defensive play and high contact rate, the consensus All-American and ACC Player of the Year received high praise.
Teel quickly tore a path through the lower echelons of Boston’s agricultural hierarchy.
Teel only played three games for the Florida Complex League Red Sox before moving on to High-A Greenville from Low-A Salem. It took him just 14 games to receive another call-up, and he ended his shortened 2023 season with Double-A Portland, where he was paired with two of Boston’s best prospects, Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony.
Boston has good reason to move forward with Teel more quickly. Teel finished the 2023 season with nine games with Portland, batting.323 and slugging a home run after slashing.377/.485/.453 in his cup of coffee with Greenville.
Even highly skilled players coming out of collegiate programs like Teel are frequently given a longer development curve in the minor levels, as Red Sox director of player development Brian Abraham noted.
But in the little time he has been with Boston, Teel has pushed the boundaries thus far.
Abraham described Teel as “unique in that we don’t have too many rookies in the rookie program that haven’t had a spring training.” We made some jokes while he was getting used to Fort Myers, because I believe he will eventually come here and exclaim, “Wow, we have a lot of players,” as he has only ever been here for 60 or 70 minutes at a time.
“When he travels to Fort Myers the following week, we should have roughly 170. I believe he is simply acclimating to his routine and realizing the significance of managing a full-season workload, particularly given his position behind the plate. However, he greatly increased his strength, which is one of his main offseason objectives. And once more, I believe that he is prepared to take on the role of consistency. We are eager for him to be able to manage both the attacking and defensive sides at the highest levels.
Teel believed that his strong repetitions with the Cavaliers had prepared him for his ascent through Boston’s farm system, despite his scant reps against professional opposition.
“From pitch calling to scouting reports, I would say Virginia definitely prepared me in regards to all aspects of catching and offensively,” Teel said. “I think it’s going the way it is for me because these are all things I’ve done at Virginia in the past,” the speaker said.
Baseball America ranks Teel as the No. 62 prospect in baseball, but even with Connor Wong and Reese McGuire on the 40-man roster, Boston is expected to start the 2024 season with plenty of promise for a Red Sox team that is choosing to
Teel, with his impressive pro ball debut, is in fairly excellent company. However, the top prospect isn’t attempting to make a move until the 2024 campaign.
“To be here is my goal,” Teel declared. “The only things I actually have control over are the elements of my game and how hard I work. Once more, the objective is to arrive here; however, I have no influence over other choices.
