Red Sox’s Kyle Teel Brings Momentum To First Full Professional Season

Before the start of the 2024 season, NESN.com is evaluating several noteworthy prospects in the Boston Red Sox organization, using insight and analysis from industry experts to gauge each player’s outlook for the upcoming campaign. Next up: Kyle Teel.

Kyle Teel played just 26 games in the minor leagues for the Boston Red Sox last season.

Regardless, the hype around the catching prospect is real for a player who can make things happen in all aspects of the game.

Here’s everything you need to know about the 22-year-old catcher.

Background
The Red Sox got a gift when Teel fell to them with the No. 14 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, selecting a polished catcher with legitimate talent.

The New Jersey native rose into a capable prospect at Mahwah High School, earning Gatorade Player of the Year honors in the Garden State for the 2020 season. That production led to a Power Five opportunity to play at the University of Virginia.

Teel did not disappoint for the Cavaliers, hitting .343 in his career that was capped off by a sensational 2023 campaign. The Virginia catcher hit over .400 with 13 home runs and a 1.130 OPS as the ACC Player of the Year.

Teel made the jump to professional ball and did not skip a beat, hitting .363 with a .977 OPS across three levels of the Red Sox farm system.

So far, Teel has made an impact everywhere he has played in his young baseball career.

Scouting report
Starting with defense, Teel isn’t a huge guy for a catcher, standing at 6-foot-1 with an athletic body type that allows him to be fluid behind the plate. While receiving pitches and game-calling with be areas to watch in his progression, Teel passes the eye test behind the plate.

“He’s a catcher who moves really well behind the plate,” Baseball America’s Geoff Pontes told NESN.com. “I think he’s instinctual and does some great things back there. You can play him in a few different positions.”

“He’s not a Gold Glove-caliber guy, but he’s someone who I think can be an above-average defensive catcher,” Ian Cundall of SoxProspects.com told NESN.com.

Pontes shared that former veteran catcher and three-time All-Star Jason Kendall provides a solid comparison for Teel, based on hitting for average and quality defense behind the plate.

“Catchers don’t hit,” Cundall said. “You don’t find good hitting catchers and good defensive catchers. They’re very rare. and so, the bar for him is if he’s an above-average defender, let’s say, what he is at the plate makes him a borderline All-Star almost. That’s what’s exciting. He’s one of the few catching prospects who is a two-way threat.”

Teel has the potential to become a cornerstone with the Red Sox given his position and capable talent, just as a former Boston captain gave to the team for over a decade.

“The bat-to-ball skills are excellent,” Pontes shared. “The approach is excellent. He’s a really good player. He could be a real franchise catcher back there in the (Jason) Varitek grouping. This is a guy that the generation will know as the Red Sox catcher. I think he has those sort of abilities on both sides of the ball.”

Most-likely outcome: Long-term starter
Teel’s talent makes him the favorite to eventually be the starting catcher at Fenway Park at the base of the next core up the middle of the field along with shortstop Marcelo Mayer and outfielder Roman Anthony.

Best-case outcome: All-Star catcher
Teel’s overall capabilities could allow him to blossom into one of the best catchers in the sport, especially given the rare cases in baseball where players at the position can play above average on both sides of the ball.

Fenway forecast
Teel very well could find his way to the big leagues for a quick introduction later in the 2024 season. That path mostly appears due to a lack of competition at catcher in comparison to infield and outfield spots at the major league level for the Red Sox.

“Of the three top guys, I would say he has the best chance to debut first,” Cundall shared. “There’s a couple of reasons for that. At catcher, I think there’s more of an opening in a weird way.”

Though the Red Sox have been aggressive in promoting him, Teel has plenty of growing to do entering his first full season. With that said a continuation of last season’s potential could expedite his road to the show.

“I just think there’s more of an opportunity that if Teel shows his potential and shows that he can hit and handle a pitching staff quickly,” Cundall added.

SoxProspects ranking: No. 3
Teel slides in at the No. 3 spot, trailing only Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer, who join him as the “Big Three” of future talent among Red Sox prospects. Teel does not have a particular standout skill, though his overall abilities validate his potential.

“I think this is where he differs a little bit from Anthony and Mayer — where there’s probably not a plus-tool there,” Cundall explained. “But Teel’s someone who’s just a very good baseball player who does everything well. You’re talking about a bunch of 50s and 55s.”

Cundall added: “At catcher, that makes you a borderline top-10 catcher in all of baseball potentially. So that’s what’s really exciting about him. It’s not going to be as flashy as Mayer or Anthony, but it’s just all gonna work.”