Tag: kyle teel

Red Sox to promote top prospects Roman Anthony, Kyle Teel to Double-A Portland

The Red Sox are promoting top prospects Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel from High-A Greenville to Double-A Portland, as was first reported by MiLB Central on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Anthony and Teel are currently regarded by Baseball America as the Nos. 2 and 4 prospects in Boston’s farm system, respectively. As far as top-100 rankings are concerned, the former comes in at No. 19 on the publication’s latest list while the latter comes in at No. 91.

Anthony, 19, began the 2023 season with Low-A Salem after being taken by the Red Sox with the 79th overall pick in last year’s amateur draft out of Stoneman Douglas High School (Parkland, Fla.). The left-handed hitting outfielder appeared in 42 games for Boston’s Carolina League affiliate before earning a promotion to Greenville in mid-June.

With the Drive, Anthony batted a stout .294/.412/.569 (164 wRC+) with 14 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs, 38 RBIs, 41 runs scored, two stolen bases, 40 walks, and 75 strikeouts over 54 games (245 plate appearances). The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder put up those numbers while seeing the majority of his playing time come in center field, where he recorded five assists in 337 defensive innings.

Teel, 21, was selected by Boston with the 14th overall pick in this summer’s draft out of Virginia. The New Jersey native signed with the club for an over-slot bonus of $4,663,100 in late July. He then made his professional debut in the rookie-level Florida Complex League on August 3, but he only stuck around there for three games before skipping Low-A altogether and making the jump to Greenville five days later.

A left-handed hitter like Anthony, Teel got off to a hot start with Greenville and wound up slashing .377/.485/.453 (166 wRC+) with four doubles, nine runs driven in, 10 runs scored, one stolen base, 11 walks, and 11 strikeouts in 14 games (66 plate appearances) for Greenville. From behind the plate, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound backstop threw out six of 20 would-be base stealers while allowing three passed balls.

With the promotions of Anthony and Teel, Portland now has even more of Boston’s top prospects on its roster. Even with shortstop Marcelo Mayer — who has been sidelined by left shoulder inflammation for the last month — on the injured list, the Sea Dogs have already featured catcher Nathan Hickey, second baseman Nick Yorke, infielders Brainer Bonaci, Chase Meidroth, and Blaze Jordan, and right-handers Wikelman Gonzalez, Angel Bastardo, and Hunter Dobbins, among others.

The Sea Dogs have just 12 regular season games remaining on their schedule. They will take on the Reading Fightin Phils on the road this week and then return home to host the Hartford Yard Goats in a six-game series that will run from September 12-17 at Hadlock Field.

(Picture of Kyle Teel: Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)

Red Sox officially sign top draft pick Kyle Teel

The Red Sox have officially signed 2023 first-round draft selection Kyle Teel, the club announced earlier Friday afternoon.

Teel, who is at Fenway Park to take batting practice ahead of Friday’s series opener against the Mets, received a $4 million signing bonus, according to The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier. The slot value for the 14th overall pick in this year’s draft was $4,633,100.

Boston took Teel with its first-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft earlier this month. The Virginia product was regarded by Baseball America as the No. 10 prospect in this summer’s class, which ranked first among draft-eligible catchers.

“Kyle is a guy that we had very high on our board for obvious reasons,” Red Sox amateur scouting director Devin Pearson said of Teel in a team-released statement. “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.”

Teel, 21, spent the last three seasons at Virginia after taking himself out of draft consideration in 2020 despite being regarded as a top-100 talent coming out of Mahwah High School in New Jersey. This past spring, the left-handed hitting junior batted a stout .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.

Defensively, Teel made 65 starts at catcher this season and caught all but 23 innings for the Hoos. In that time frame, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound backstop threw out 15 of 24 possible base stealers. Between what he did on both sides of the ball, Teel was named the 2023 ACC Player of the Year as well as a consensus first team All-American.

While he has past experience in the outfield, it appears as though the Red Sox are committed to developing Teel as a catcher moving forward. As such, he will undoubtedly emerge as the top catching prospect in Boston’s farm system ahead of the likes of Nathan Hickey, Johanfran Garcia, Brooks Brannon, and Enderso Lira, among others.

Teel, who does not turn 22 until next February, is the first catcher the Red Sox have taken in the first round of a draft since Blake Swihart, who was selected 26th overall in 2011. He is also the first college player Boston has used a first-round pick on since 2017, when Missouri right-hander Tanner Houck was taken with the 24th overall pick.

In addition to Teel, the Red Sox announced that they signed 13 additional 2023 draft picks in fourth-rounder Matt Duffy, compensatory fourth-rounder Kristian Campbell, fifth-rounder Connelly Early, sixth-rounder, CJ Weins, seventh-rounder Caden Rose, eight-rounder Trennor O’Donnell, ninth-rounder Blake Wehunt, 10th-rounder Ryan Ammons, 12th-rounder Max Carlson, 13th-rounder Cade Feeney, 14th-rounder Jojo Ingrassia, 16th-rounder Isaac Stebens, and 18th-rounder Zach Fogell.

Of the eight players who have yet to officially sign, second-rounder Nazzan Zanetello is arguably the most notable. That being said, the 18-year-old shortstop out of Christian Brothers College High School (St. Louis, Mo.) is expected to forego his commitment to Arkansas by putting pen to paper in Boston on Saturday, per MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo.

(Picture of Kyle Teel: Brian Fluharty/Getty Images)

Red Sox select Virginia lefty Connelly Early with fifth-round pick in 2023 MLB Draft

The Red Sox have selected Virginia left-hander Connelly Early with their fifth-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft at No. 151 overall.

Early, 21, posted a 3.09 ERA and 1.20 WHIP with exactly 100 strikeouts to 23 walks in 19 appearances (18 starts) spanning 87 1/3 innings of work for Virginia as a junior this past season and was a third-team All-ACC selection as a result.

A native of Midlothian, Va., Early spent the first two years of his collegiate career at Army. As a sophomore, the lefty earned 2022 Patriot League Pitcher of the Year honors before transferring to Virginia last August.

In his lone season with the Cavaliers, Early was battery mates with catcher Kyle Teel, who the Red Sox drafted with the 14th overall pick on Sunday. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound southpaw throws from a three-quarters arm slot and operates with a three-pitch mix that consists of a low-90s fastball, a sweeping slider, a curveball, and a changeup that is viewed as his best secondary offering.

Early, who does not turn 22 until next April, is the second pitcher Boston has taken alongside fourth-rounder Matt Duffy (Canisius). The 151st overall pick in this year’s draft comes with a slot value of $408,500.

(Picture of Connelly Early: Eakin Howard/Getty Images)

Red Sox select high school shortstop Nazzan Zanetello with second pick in 2023 MLB Draft

The Red Sox have selected Christian Brothers College High School (St. Louis, Mo.) shortstop Nazzan Zanetello with their second-round pick in the 2023 MLB Draft at No. 50 overall.

Zanetello, 18, was regarded by Baseball America as the No. 110 prospect in this year’s draft class. The Missouri native is currently committed to play college baseball at Arkansas.

A right-handed hitter, Zanetello batted .413/.537/.809 with six doubles, two triples, five home runs, 16 RBIs, 25 runs scored, 11 stolen bases, 15 walks, and 12 strikeouts in 22 games (82 plate appearances) as a senior for Christian Brothers this spring, per his MaxPreps page.

Listed at 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds, Zanetello has room to add muscle to his frame. According to his Baseball America scouting report, Zanetello “has an impressive tool set to play in the middle of the field” and has “plenty of upside” on account of possessing “some of the best pure athleticism” in this year’s class.

To go along with five-tool potential, Zanetello “has shown better zone control than pure contact ability. He rarely chases out of the zone but also has shown swing-and-miss tendencies on pitches in the zone. He sets up with an even stance and gets his swing started with a small leg kick, and his bat path can get lengthy at times. He does drive the ball with authority when he connects, and his physical projection indicates exciting power upside to come.”

Elsewhere, Zanetello is “a plus runner who looks strong in center field, where he reads the ball off the bat with good range and a strong arm, and has also done a nice job at shortstop, where he’s shown an ability to make difficult, body control plays with arm strength that works on the infield as well.”

When speaking with reporters (including The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier) on Sunday night, Red Sox amateur scouting director Devin Pearson indicated that the club plans on having Zanetello play both shortstop and the outfield as he begins his professional career.

“He’s one of the best athletes in the draft, in my opinion,” Pearson said of Zanetello on a Zoom call. “He’s explosive, he’s got speed, he’s got the ability to play a really good shortstop. Athletic enough to play a really good center field. He’s just a box of tools and a great kid we’re really excited to add to the organization.”

Assuming Zanetello — who is in Seattle for the draft with his family — signs with Boston by the July 25 deadline, he will presumably head to Fort Myers and break in with the rookie-level Florida Complex League Red Sox. The slot value for the 50th overall pick in this year’s draft is $1,698,000.

Zanetello, who does not turn 19 until next May, represents the second and final selection the Red Sox will be making on Day 1 of the draft. Boston took the reigning ACC Player of the Year in Virginia catcher Kyle Teel with its first-round (14th overall) pick.

Day 2 of the draft will consist of rounds 3-10 and will get underway at 2 p.m. eastern time on Monday afternoon. The Red Sox will be making 10 selections (Nos. 83, 115, 132, 133, 151, 178, 208, 238, 268, and 298). They received the 132nd and 133rd picks in the draft as compensation for losing Xander Bogaerts (Padres) and Nathan Eovaldi (Rangers) in free agency.

(Picture of Nazzan Zanetello: Rob Tringali/MLB Photos via Getty Images)

Red Sox select Virginia catcher Kyle Teel with top pick in 2023 MLB Draft

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)