Teel in middle of White Sox winning rally during eventful MLB debut

CHICAGO -- White Sox catching prospect Kyle Teel had his contract selected from Triple-A Charlotte before Friday's 7-2 comeback victory over the Royals at Rate Field. To make room on the roster, backstop Korey Lee was optioned to Charlotte.

Teel was in the lineup as the starting catcher, batting sixth for his Major League debut, and he reached base three times with two walks and a single. One of those walks helped ignite Chicago's decisive five-run eighth inning, during which he alertly scored on a wild pitch.

In the fourth inning, he caught Drew Waters trying to steal second -- two innings after Teel himself was thrown out at home on the back end of a designed double steal, which he admitted was his mistake.

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“This was a great experience,” Teel said. “I dreamed about this moment for a long time, since I can remember. Just the emotion I felt out on the field was really amazing. I'm just so happy."

“Nice job by Kyle. Right in the mix in everything,” White Sox manager Will Venable said. “Some big spots, didn't chase. Just a really good day for Kyle.”

The No. 2 White Sox prospect and No. 26 overall, per MLB Pipeline, has been the model of consistency and excellence offensively for the Knights, having reached base in 38 of his 39 games since April 10 while slashing .326/.424/.525 with eight doubles, six home runs, 21 RBIs and 29 runs scored during that stretch. For the season, Teel has a slash line of .295/.394/.492 with eight home runs, 10 doubles, 30 RBIs, 34 runs scored and seven stolen bases.

Teel was recently voted as the White Sox Position Player of the Month for May.

“It’s cool. This is something I dreamed about since I was a little kid. Everything I worked for comes up to this point. So, this is awesome,” said Teel before Friday’s debut. “I would just say that working hard and being consistent with my process every single day is what I did and I don’t expect that to stop.

“Just keep my head down and keep working hard. That’s a big part of my game, just being a hard-nosed ballplayer.”

Teel becomes the second of four players to make it to the Majors with the White Sox from the Garrett Crochet/Boston trade during the 2024 Winter Meetings. Infielder Chase Meidroth’s contract was selected on April 11, and he borrowed a collared shirt from Teel since he didn’t have one with him on the Knights’ road trip at the time.

When Charlotte manager Sergio Santos gave him the news before Thursday’s game, he presented Teel with a collared shirt from the White Sox.

“Honestly, it’s his to keep,” a smiling Teel said of the shirt. “I’m pumped. I can’t wait for the fans to see our team play tonight, and it’s going to be great.”

“Obviously, it’s a great accomplishment,” Meidroth said. “I got to know him with the Red Sox last year a little bit, the last month at Triple-A. He’s an awesome dude. Super nice guy. He’s ready.”

During MLB.com’s trip to Charlotte in early May, Teel discussed his constant work with the pitchers. He was talking to them during batting practice and in the clubhouse, not just during the game, trying to help them be at their best while also learning as much as he could about the position.

There was some school of thought that Teel, a 23-year-old left-handed hitter, would stay in Charlotte longer to continue honing his catching craft. But Teel basically forced the issue, putting him alongside Edgar Quero, a fellow top young catcher in the organization.

“A lot of it was just Kyle's production, quite honestly,” White Sox general manager Chris Getz said. “You're always trying to fine-tune every aspect of your game and you look at what he was doing behind the plate from a receiving standpoint, the feedback from our coaches and players that the game calling, the game management was in a really good spot.

“Then you look at his offensive output, which has been really strong now for a stretch. He just continues to put together quality at-bats with power, getting on base, making good decisions. So you're looking at a fairly well-rounded player.”

Lee recently was in Charlotte for an injury rehab assignment and praised Teel, who clearly had progressed since Spring Training in Lee’s mind.

“Absolutely,” Lee told MLB.com. “His recall, his catching, his dynamics of day in and day out catching. He’s gotten a lot better. We are all striding to improve, trying to be the best, but he’s done a really, really good job down there.”

Although Teel talked earlier this week about working a couple of days at first base during recent BP sessions, he is a catcher. He also was open to doing whatever it took to reach the Majors.

“He’s athletic, he has all the tools,” said White Sox catching coach Drew Butera of Teel. “He’s definitely in the right position for sure.”

“Obviously my goal is to play in the big leagues,” Teel said. “That's why I work so hard every day, is to help the White Sox win. But I can't play GM. I just have to go out there and play baseball every day. So, I'm just doing my job and I'm going to let all that take care of itself.”