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Recent Boston Draft Pick Proves Potential In May

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Last June, Kyle Teel was suiting up for the University of Virginia in the NCAA College World Series. He was a junior in the midst of a dominant collegiate season that ended with a .407 batting average. One year later, Teel is still crushing his opponents. This time though, it’s in professional baseball. Just 12 months removed from college, Boston prospect Kyle Teel is proving his potential.

Boston Prospect Kyle Teel Proves Potential In May

Teel had a slow start to his 2024 season with the Portland Sea Dogs, the Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. In April, the catcher batted just .213 with eight RBI and 20 strikeouts in 16 games. Teel was still getting his feet wet in MiLB, something that sometimes takes seasons to achieve. Entering May, the 2023 first-round pick looked to break out of his season-starting slump. Teel did just that, and in emphatic fashion. 

Kyle Teel ripped the cover off the baseball in May. There is no other way to put it. Boston’s #3 prospect, according to MLB.com, batted .357 with three bombs and 22 RBI in the month. In his 22 games, Teel had hits in 19 contests. Nine of those were multi-knock performances. He started the month with a bang, going 2-for-4 with a homer and four RBI on May 1 against Reading. By May 10, Teel had already brought his average above .250. That number reached .270 four days later and .280 by May 22. 

The last two matchups of May skyrocketed Teel’s statistics. On May 30 and 31, he combined for five hits, five RBI, and three runs. After beginning the month with a sub-.215 average, he ended it with a .297. Teel’s OBP rose from .351 to .396 and his slugging percentage went from .400 to .469. In every part of his offensive game, Kyle Teel dominated. He didn’t necessarily do it by hitting countless home runs. Teel consistently hit, drove runners in, and scored himself. The New Jersey native had just 12 runs scored at the end of April. Now, he has 32.

Kyle Teel Comes Up Clutch

Teel’s May statistics are obviously eye-popping, but his clutch hitting is even more impressive. During the last game of the month, Portland was down to its final strike. In a 6-3 contest with two outs and men on first and second, Teel got himself into a 2-2 count. He took the next pitch and crushed it past the right-field wall for his fifth homer of the year. The Sea Dogs went on to win 8-6 in 10 innings. But if it wasn’t for Teel’s strong bat, Portland would have lost its second consecutive matchup to Altoona. 

Teel’s ninth-inning bomb was his second in the last four games of May. Both were crushed to right field and reached Altoona’s roller-coaster. He batted .375 with six hits and seven RBI over the four contests. His month of May brought Teel closer to his outstanding first season in the Red Sox organization. The catcher batted .363 in 26 games across three minor league levels in 2023. 

Kyle Teel’s Road To Boston

Teel went to high school in Mahwah, New Jersey, where he excelled on the diamond. After arriving at Virginia, he played heavily in his first season. Teel appeared in 54 games and slashed .335/.416/.526. He took a slight dip in his sophomore campaign but rebounded as a junior, cementing himself as one of the best players in his class. In 65 games, Teel slashed .407/.475/.655, hit 13 homers, 25 doubles, drove in 69 teammates, and struck out just 36 times. His 2022-23 performances helped lead UVA into the College World Series, where they eventually lost to Florida and TCU. 

Following his stellar season, Teel was also named the recipient of the 2023 Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award. Previous winners include Adley Rutschman, Joey Bart, and Mike Zunino. The 22-year-old was then selected with the 14th pick of the 2023 MLB Draft. He appeared in Rookie Ball, High-A, and Double-A last season. Teel batted over .320 at all three levels. 

The Red Sox currently are getting production out of the catcher spot with Connor Wong leading the way. That means Boston is in no rush to call up its third-best prospect. But it also won’t stop Teel from gaining playing time once he reaches the majors in the next few years. After a slow start in April, fans may have worried that Teel wasn’t fully ready for the higher levels of MiLB. But his recent month pushed all those sentiments aside as he reasserted himself as a top prospect. Kyle Teel proved his potential in May.

 

Photo Credit: © Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

The post Recent Boston Draft Pick Proves Potential In May appeared first on Last Word On Baseball.