Red Sox Top Prospect Finding His Footing In Triple-A After Recent Slump

The Worcester backstop is looking more like the Red Sox catcher of the future every day

Worcester catcher Kyle Teel chases an infield fly ball against Lehigh Valley at Polar Park Tuesday. / Rick Cinclair/Telegram & Gazette / USA TODAY NETWORK

Everyone goes through slumps in baseball.

It happens to All-Stars. It happens to Cy Young winners. Even Hall-of-Famers. Baseball humbles everyone, and going through a bad stretch is just part of the process for the game's best.

But when a top prospect goes through a slump, especially right after being promoted, it can cause a bit of panic among the diehards that closely follow the farm system. "Sure," they think, "the kid could hit in Double-A, but can he do it against a bunch of former big-leaguers in Triple-A?"

That's exactly what happened to the Red Sox's Kyle Teel, who went through a rough patch after his highly-publicized promotion to Triple-A, alongside fellow "Big Three" prospects Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony.

However, talent usually starts to produce in the long haul, and that appears to be the case for the 22-year-old catcher.

On Sunday, Teel hit his first Triple-A home run in his 14th game with the Worcester Red Sox, part of a 2-for-4 day that also included an RBI single. He followed that up with a 2-for-3 performance on Monday, raising his average to .172. He was hitting .118 entering Sunday's action.

Jen McCaffrey of The Athletic recently speculated that the physical demand of the catching position and the long minor-league summer were likely contributing to Teel's swoon at the plate. While that's likely the case, it's still good to see the catcher finding his footing against better competition.

Teel is currently the Red Sox's number-three prospect and the number-26 prospect in all of baseball according to MLB Pipeline. He looks like the future of the catching position at Fenway Park, though current backstop Connor Wong has had a surprisingly good season as well.

Though he won't earn a call-up in 2024, it would give Teel confidence heading into the winter to continue finishing strong at the plate. And with a strong spring, there's a slight possibility Teel could insert his name into the Opening Day roster conversation for 2025.

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