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Kyle Teel (Photo courtesy of Virginia Athletics)

First Round Draft Pick Kyle Teel now Bleeds Red for Boston

Baseball, Featured, Local Athletes, Mahwah

Seattle, Washingtonβ€” On Sunday, Major League Baseball began it's annual Draft and NJ native Kyle Teel was selected by the Boston Red Sox in the first round, No. 14 overall. He is the University of Virginia's 15th first round draft pick in program history.

Teel said he was a Yankees fan growing up, but after being selected by Boston on Sunday, he said, "But now, I bleed red.".

Born in Ridgewood, NJ, son of Garett Teel and Janine Libutti. Baseball is certainly in his blood. His father was drafted in the 12th round by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1998 draft. His dad was a catcher and third baseman and spent five seasons in the organization both as a player and coach. His brother, Aidan, is also a member of the UVA baseball team. Kyle and Aidan are the seventh set of brothers to play for head coach Brian O’Connor.

Kyle was ranked No. 7 overall prospect by the MLB. He is a 6-foot-1, 190 pounds, left-hitting catcher and a product of University of Virginia. A New Jersey native from Mahwah, who attended Mahwah High School and was a standout from the start. Teel started his career for the UVA Cavaliers in 2021. Β He split time with the catcher, he played right field and also DH. He was third-team all-ACC as a DH, hitting 9 HR, and driving in 41 runs in 209 at bats.Β 

Teel is a lefty with excellent contact-skills. In 2022, Teel started all 58 games at catcher and had six home runs, 45 RBI, and .841 OPS. In 2023, he batted .407 with 13 homers, 69 RBI and a 1.130 OPS. His batting average never dipped below .400 for the entire 2023 season, in fact, he is the third UVA player since 1986 to bat over .400.Β  One of his many achievements was hitting four career grand slams which is the MOST of any UVA player.

Teel's defensive numbers do not disappoint, he has a strong arm and very athletic for a catcher. His career from 2021-2023 he threw out 25 runners and caught 37% of base stealers and made just nine errors in his career with a fielding percentage of .994. His Framing is also a bonus. He posted a 154 Framing+. The league-average mark is 100. He is an above-average defender behind the dish.

Rankings:

β€’ Ranked in the top-10 in the ACC in batting average (2nd), doubles (2nd), hits (2nd), RBI (5th), total bases (5th) and on-base percentage (7th).
β€’ Finished in the top-10 UVA history in five career categories – 7th in home runs (28), 8th in runs scored (170), 9th in total bases (376), 9th in doubles (48) & 10th in batting average (.343).

Career Accolades:Β 

β€’ Recipient of the Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award (first Cavalier ever).
β€’ Named the Top NCAA Male Baseball Catcher as part of the Johnny Bench Awards.
β€’ Voted the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, UVA’s first POTY since 2006 (Sean Doolittle) and third overall.
β€’ First Team ABCA All-Atlantic Region selection.
β€’ A First Team All-ACC selection at catcher.

Boston Gets Athletics Catcher in Teel

Red Sox fans should be excited with this pick up. Boston selected an excellent all around player despite being a catcher, Teel is super athletic, good baserunner and quick movements behind the plate that showcases is athleticism. Strong arm and a Lefty bat made for Fenway Park. It is unknown where he will start but he could find himself moving up quickly due to Boston's lack of catching depth.

Sandra Molinares
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