Boston, MA, USA - March 20, 2023: view of the historic architecture of the Fenway Park Stadium in Boston, Massachusetts, USA showcasing its sings and red brick walls on a sunny winter day.
It’s been a while since the Boston Red Sox had a sure thing at catcher. However, they may soon have a long-term solution in the form of catcher Kyle Teel.
That’s the way The Athletic’s Keith Law laid it out in the 2024 edition of his Top 100 MLB Prospects, where Teel ranked No. 24. Law notes that Teel “was the best catcher in the 2023 draft class” and is an “unusually good athlete” for a catcher.
Teel at 54 was the third-best placement of any Red Sox prospect in Law’s rankings, coming in behind Marcelo Mayer (No. 8) and Roman Anthony (No. 22). On top of raw talent, Teel also comes in with the potential to solve a long-term problem for Boston.
“He could come into some pull-side power with a few small adjustments at the plate, depending on how Boston wants to develop him; a catcher who hits a ton of line drives and is at least an average receiver is good enough to make some All-Star teams, and he’d solve a problem the Red Sox have had for years at that position.”
It’s been a while since the Red Sox last had an All-Star catcher. The last time it happened was in 2010 with Victor Martinez.
The Red Sox took Teel with the No. 14 pick of the 2023 MLB Draft, a selection that was commonly dubbed a steal. Law himself wrote at the time that he was “shocked” to see Teel still on the board when Boston picked him and that “Red Sox fans should be ecstatic.”
Keep an eye out for MassLive’s list of the top 25 prospects in the Red Sox system this week, with five players being released each day. You can expect to see Anthony’s name on Friday when the farm system’s top five prospects are revealed.
