The Red Sox have selected Virginia catcher Kyle Teel with their top pick in the 2023 MLB Draft at No. 14 overall.
Teel, 21, was regarded by Baseball America as the No. 10 prospect in this year’s class, which ranked first among draft-eligible catchers. The left-handed hitting junior is coming off a 2023 season in which he batted .407/.475/.655 with 25 doubles, 13 home runs, 69 RBIs, 67 runs scored, five stolen bases, 32 walks, and 36 strikeouts in 65 games (297 plate appearances) with the Cavaliers.
On the other side of the ball, Teel made 65 starts at catcher this spring and caught all but 23 innings for Virginia. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound backstop threw out 15 of 24 would-be base stealers. Between what he did at and behind the plate, Teel was named the 2023 ACC Player of the Year as well as a consensus first team All-American.
“Kyle is a guy that we had very high on our board for obvious reasons,” Red Sox director of amateur scouting Devin Pearson said of Teel in a statement released by the club. “He had an unbelievable 2023 season offensively and is arguably one of the best college athletes in the draft. We think he’s going to be really valuable for us. We’re excited to add an athletic catcher to the system, and we were thrilled to get him with the 14th pick.”
A native of New Jersey, Teel was regarded as a top-100 talent coming out of high school in 2020, but he took himself out of draft consideration and honored his commitment to Virginia after the COVID-19 pandemic prematurely ended his prep career. Upon arriving in Charlottesville, Teel made an immediate impact as a true freshman while splitting time between catcher and the outfield. He moved into a full-time catching role in 2022 and wasted little time in emerging as the top catching prospect in this year’s draft class.
Per his Baseball America scouting report, Teel ” has plenty of bat speed and takes extremely aggressive, violent hacks with plenty of moving parts in his setup. He has a large leg kick with a significant hand hitch in his load, but has also developed a solid track record of both contact and on-base skills. Teel has homered to all fields in college, but he has more fringe-average power projections in pro ball.
“Teel’s standout athleticism should give him every opportunity to stick behind the plate, and he has easy plus arm strength that should be an asset at the position as well. He’s thrown out 33.3% of basestealers for his career and turns in pop times around 1.90 seconds at his best, though his footwork and accuracy could be improved. He folds up well behind the plate and is a quick lateral mover on dirt balls, and he’s improved significantly as a receiver since his freshman year. He’s a good runner for a catcher and is the consensus top college catcher in the class.”
Teel, who does not turn 22 until next February, becomes the first catcher the Red Sox have taken in the first round of a draft since Blake Swihart was taken 26th overall in 2011. This is the earliest Boston has drafted a backstop since 1984, when it took John Marzano out of Temple at No. 14. Interestingly enough, longtime Red Sox catcher Jason Varitek was also taken 14th overall by the Mariners back in 1994.
By taking Teel when they did, the Red Sox put an end to a three-year run in which they exclusively drafted California-born high school infielders (Mikey Romero, Marcelo Mayer, and Nick Yorke) in the first round. Teel is also the first college player Boston has selected in the first round of a draft since 2017, when Missouri right-hander Tanner Houck was taken with the 24th overall pick.
Assuming he signs by the July 25 deadline, Teel will likely become the top catching prospect in Boston’s farm system, surpassing the likes of 18-year-old Johanfran Garcia, 19-year-old Brooks Brannon, and 23-year-old Nathan Hickey, among others. The slot value for the 14th overall pick in this year’s draft is $4,663,100.
The Red Sox have one more pick to make before Day 1 of the MLB Draft comes to a close on Sunday night. They will be making their second-round selection at No. 50 overall momentarily.
(Picture of Kyle Teel: Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
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