The Chicago White Sox might be only 39-69 this season, but with a stand-out month, former Virginia Cavaliers’ catcher Kyle Teel has proven himself to be a major bright spot and a ray of hope behind the dish.
The former ’Hoo and consensus 2023 First Team All-American — Teel finished his UVA career inside the top-10 in program history in home runs (28), runs scored (170), total bases (376), doubles (48), and batting average (.343) — made his Major League debut this season for Chicago on June 6th. Though
Teel didn’t get off to the fastest start, hitting just .219 with one RBI through his first 12 games, the Mahwah, New Jersey, product has really begun to turn things on in the month of July.
Kyle Teel rips a liner the opposite way for his first Major League hit!
— MLB (@MLB) June 7, 2025
Welcome to The Show, Kyle pic.twitter.com/tp9qssqXRD
Teel is batting .293 with 17 hits, a homer, 7 RBIs and 12 runs scored in 19 games since June 23, and he delivered his signature Major League performance a week ago, going 4-5 with a home run, 2 RBI, and 3 runs scored last Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays.
In the top of the sixth, Teel blasted a 336-foot dinger off Rays’ righty Joe Boyle for his first career home run, finally showing off the power that Virginia fans were accustomed to seeing during his three seasons in Charlottesville.
Kyle Teel launches his first big league homer! pic.twitter.com/YPp9k1pavI
— MLB (@MLB) July 24, 2025
After capping off his junior season at UVA with a trip to the College World Series, Teel was selected by the Boston Red Sox with the 14th overall pick of the 2023 MLB draft. But after spending a season in Boston’s farm system, the ’Sox dealt Teel to Chicago this past December along with three other minor-league prospects as part of a trade for pitcher Garrett Crochet.
It didn’t take long for Teel to earn a call-up in Chicago, hitting .295 with an .886 OPS in 50 appearances for the White Sox’s Triple-A affiliate, the Charlotte Knights. And with a break-out past month in the show, he’s beginning to prove why he was considered such an elite prospect coming out of UVA.
In addition to his excellent bat-to-ball skills, Teel boasts a solid approach at the plate, having drawn 14 walks already in just 31 games in the big leagues. The 6-foot-1 Teel also has elite athleticism for his position. He ranks 10th among MLB catchers with a sprint speed of 27.5 feet/second. And although it hasn’t yet translated to many caught stealing, his 81.8 MPH average throw down to the second ranks 13th in the Majors.
This was the strongest throw from behind the plate yesterday. Kyle Teel threw this ball 84.4 MPH, released it in .70 seconds, for a pop time of 1.91. pic.twitter.com/ColR2beBEi
— Xan Barksdale (@xanbarksdale) June 20, 2025
It’s been a brutal past couple seasons for the White Sox, who have lost over 100 games in each of the past two seasons. But along with shortstop Colson Montgomery, another catcher in Edgar Quero, pitcher Grant Taylor, and lefty starter Noah Schultz, Teel is a part of a young core that’s hoping to turn things around in Chicago.
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