The Red Sox selected University of Virginia catcher Kyle Teel with the No. 14 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft.
The 21-year-old was ranked as the No. 7 overall prospect in the draft, according to MLB.com.
This past season, the New Jersey native hit .407 with 13 homers, 69 RBIs and a 1.130 OPS in 65 games for Virginia last season as a junior. During his time as the Cavaliers’ starting catcher, he hit .343 with 28 homers, 155 RBIs and a .979 OPS in 177 games.
He also played eight games in the Cape Cod Baseball League last season for Harwich. He hit .125 with one double, one RBI and an .443 OPS.
“Kyle is a guy that we had very high on our board for obvious reasons,” said Red Sox Director of Amateur Scouting Devin Pearson said in a 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 are thrilled to get him with the 14th pick.”
🎥 Here's a glimpse of what the @RedSox can expect from @KyleTeel9! #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/jo4bik3swh
— Virginia Baseball (@UVABaseball) July 10, 2023
Teel earned Freshman All-America honors in 2021, hitting (.335) and started 15 games at catcher, 19 in right field and 19 at designated hitter. He also hit the first postseason grand slam in program history, hitting .583 (7-for-12) in three games at the College World Series in Omaha, Neb.
As a sophomore, Teel started all 58 games behind the dish at catcher, and in the process helped Virginia return to the NCAA tournament. This past season as a junior, Teel mashed at the plate putting himself on the radar as a bonafide first round pick. He hit .407 with 105 hits, 25 doubles, 13 homers, 69 RBI, a .665 slugging percentage and a 1.130 OPS. He was named the 2023 ACC Player of the Year, becoming the first UVA winner since Sean Doolittle took the honors in 2006.
He was also recognized as a consensus First-Team All-American and the recipient of the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award.
"A 6-foot-1, 190-pound lefthanded hitter, 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," wrote Baseball America. "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 enters the Red Sox organization and immediately climbs up the depth charts at the position. SoxProspects.com ranks Johanfran Garcia as the best catching prospect in the system at No. 16; Nathan Hickey, who is with the Sea Dogs, is ranked No. 21 and Salem’s Brook Brannon is at No. 31.
Garcia is playing for the FCL Red Sox and is enjoying a great season offensively hitting .337 with 29 hits, eight doubles, two triples, three homers and 22 RBI with a 1.013 OPS in 23 games.
Teel is the first catcher the Red Sox have taken in the first round since they selected Blake Swihart with the 26th overall selection in the 2011 MLB Draft. He is the highest catcher selected since 1984 when the organization selected John Marzano out of Temple University.
The Red Sox have a draft bonus pool of $10,295,100 to spend on players they draft. They can exceed the pool by about $500,000 without incurring any overage penalties. The 14th pick alone carries a recommended bonus slot value of $4,663,100.