Kyle Teel on His Rapid Rise in the Minor Leagues

Tuesday, July 9th marked one year since the Boston Red Sox selected University of Virginia catcher Kyle Teel 14th overall in the MLB Draft. In less than a year since he was drafted, Teel has not only skyrocketed through the ranks of the Red Sox farm system, but also among MLB’s top prospects overall.

Teel landed at No. 3 in our 2024 preseason rankings and No. 51 in our overall prospect rankings. As of July 11, just days before he plays in the All-Star Futures Game, Teel is hitting .298/.384/.455 on the season for the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs. After leading the Eastern League in batting average, RBI and OPS in May, Teel earned his first Player of the Month award.

#Red Stockings No. 3 prospect Kyle Teel went 10-for-24 with three home runs and led the Eastern League with 11 RBIs and a .517 on-base percentage for @PortlandSeaDogs.

🏆: https://t.co/2wNwyyvbYq photo.twitter.com/IE9A696J6u

— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) June 3, 2024

Since the second month of the season, Teel’s bat has been on fire, consistently knocking in runs for one of MiLB’s best teams. When talking about his preparation and what it takes to succeed at the professional level, Teel said that “taking it day by day, focusing on the process and not so much on the results” is one of the most important things. When you get caught up in a single game, it’s easy to affect your psyche and mental makeup. Coaches and fellow players have preached about having a short memory; focusing on the next at-bat, not the last.

As one-third of the “big three,” Teel has a lot of pressure on his shoulders. The Red Sox have seemingly staked their future on the emergence of himself, Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony. Despite high expectations, the current Sea Dogs roster has all become good friends, on and off the field. “It’s amazing,” Teel said, “I’m so grateful to be surrounded by such great baseball players every day.”

Since joining the Red Sox organization, Teel and the rest of the organization’s top prospects have quickly bonded. Not only are they all playing at a high level, but they’re also all learning from each other. “You can learn so much from guys like (Mayer and Anthony), and I just try to take it in every day and make the most of it,” Teel said.

Perhaps a lesser-known fact about the former Virginia Cavalier, Teel actually spent a short time playing for the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League the summer before he was drafted. Although he only played in eight games and recorded 29 plate appearances, Teel gained invaluable experience in the Cape League. “There’s just a great level of baseball in the Cape Cod League, and getting the chance to play against that great competition has helped me my whole career.” When the Cape League consistently produces top prospects, it can do a lot for a player’s confidence, knowing that he’s not only competed against the best, but been with them.

Teel also recalled playing for “Coach Stevie,” current Harwich Mariners field manager Steve Englert. Once Teel arrived at Harwich, he recalled, “(their) energies matched up really quickly. . . . I felt at home really quickly.” The lure of the nation’s most prestigious summer league is one of the biggest draws for the nation’s top college players. Teel, later in his time on Cape Cod, said, “I just loved the energy there. (I loved) the whole culture at Harwich and the whole team aspect that we had there.”

Now one of the best catchers in baseball, his Cape League days are behind him and he looks forward to moving up to the Minor Leagues with the Red Sox. A promotion after the upcoming All-Star break seems increasingly likely. Teel’s bat has always been one of his most valuable assets, but since he started playing professional baseball, his receiving and blocking skills have come a long way. In addition to his plus-arm strength, Teel is one of the most athletic catchers in Minor League Baseball.

Although Teel has risen to the occasion and performed at such an elite level, he will tell you he doesn’t try to do too much at once. “You play a lot of games during the season and it’s important to just take it day by day,” he said.

Teel again slams Altoona with a GO-AHEAD GRAND SLAM in the ninth inning!! photo.twitter.com/HBdiAMhUm6

— Portland Sea Dogs (@PortlandSeaDogs) June 2, 2024

At his core, he is one of the hardest working people you can find. He spends countless hours watching game film, trying to better himself and the pitching staff around him, wherever they may be. To him, baseball is about “how hard you work, and going out there with your team every day and playing the game for the right reasons.

It’s no surprise that a player of Teel’s caliber would have as much early success as he has. For a player who posted an OPS of 1.130 in his final season with Virginia with 105 hits in 65 games, he’s not only a great player, he’s a winning player. He’s quickly climbed the prospect rankings and established himself as one of the top prospects in baseball, recently landing at No. 24 on MLB Pipeline’s midseason top 100.

Eventually, Teel will take the field as the backstop at Fenway Park. Until then, he’s focused solely on controlling what he can. Day in and day out, he’ll continue to “play the game to win, have fun and work hard.”