2023 MLB Draft, Round 1: KYLE TEEEEEEEL!

The Red Sox selected college catcher Kyle Teel from the University of Virginia with their first round pick, number 14 overall.

This is UVA, where Kyle Teel went to school. Photo by Nils Huenerfuerst on Unsplash

The first and second rounds of the MLB draft took place on Sunday night in Seattle and the Boston Red Sox held the 14th and 50th picks. This wasn’t quite a case of Marcelo Mayer, the consensus top player available, falling to fourth where the Red Sox nabbed him in 2021, but it wasn’t the Red Sox going way off the board to pick Nick Yorke in the first round back in the 2020 draft either. If you had to characterize, it ended up being maybe a little bit of both.

Nobody expected University of Virginia catcher Kyle Teel to fall to the 14th pick. I certainly didn’t. I didn’t even mention him in my pre-draft writeup. That’s not because I don’t like the player though. I do like the player. It’s because he was being consistently mocked inside the top 10 picks, and with Boston picking 14 I figured, what’s the point? He’s not going to be available when 14 comes around.

Welp. I was wrong on that, but if it’s any consolation to those who read my words, so was just about everyone else. So I hope you didn’t bother reading them either. As it turned out, Teel was unexpectedly available as the Red Sox turn to pick came and to their credit they didn’t mess around, grabbing the consensus best catcher in the draft with pick number 14.

They say you don’t draft for need in the MLB draft. Players take too long to reach the majors (if indeed they ever do) and teams change too much during that time. It’s impossible to predict all the moving parts involved. Just get the best player you can and deal with any roster overlap later. I agree with that policy. That said, there are times when a draft pick lines up so perfectly with the major league roster, and this was a time like that.

Not unlike most major league teams, the Red Sox badly need catching. Boston’s minor league system sports Nathan Hickey and Ronaldo Hernandez, two guys who don’t project to actually catch at the major league level. Well, maybe Hickey can, but that’s pretty debatable. Regardless, it’s very likely the next great Boston catcher was not in the Red Sox farm system when the draft began yesterday.

Granted, there are other ways to acquire catching than just the draft, but it sure is nice and simple when a guy who can both hit and catch falls into your lap. Teel can do both of those things. He’s a fantastic catcher with a plus arm who is a good pitch framer. He’s got athleticism to spare, which is a key component to being able to stick behind the plate long term. It’s also led to calls for him to move to another position to better get his bat into the lineup, but the Red Sox reportedly see him primarily as a catcher. The good news is he’s got good bat speed, knowledge of the strike zone, and has power to play elsewhere if it comes to that, but it shouldn’t come to that.

One of the problems with the MLB draft is that players take so long to mature in the minors. Fans don’t get that quick hit of watching a player star in college and then step in and play at the pro level. The vast majority of time, baseball is too complicated and difficult for that. But in this case, although Teel won’t skip the minors, as a college catcher he should be able to move through the system quickly. Kyle Teel should be the next good Red Sox starting catcher and it shouldn’t take until 2038 for it to happen.

This really is the best case scenario for the Red Sox. They took the best player available, one of the best players available in the whole draft and the best at his position, and one who just happens to fill a massive hole in their system. It’s hard to believe they got so lucky, but they did. Also, it’s a credit to them that they were smart and flexible enough to take advantage of their good fortune.

So that’s Teel. He’s a huge grab at a position of huge need. There’s a lot more to come on the draft. The Red Sox took Missouri high school shortstop Nazzan Zanetello with the 50th pick. He sounds fantastic, but I’m tired and start a new job in the morning, so discussion of Zanetello will have to wait. There’s 18 more rounds to go too, so there will definitely be more to say on this. Also, the Red Sox have been winning a bunch of games, so that’s nice and probably worthy of discussion as well.

Thanks, as always, for reading and subscribing. Be well, and I’ll be back with more on the draft, the team, and the upcoming trade deadline soon.