It’s showtime for Mahwah’s Kyle Teel.
The former Mahwah High School baseball standout and first-round draft pick was promoted to the Chicago White Sox from the Triple-A Charlotte Knights on June 5.
The No. 2 prospect in the White Sox organization, the lefty catcher had been a consistent presence in the Knights’ lineup, batting .295 with eight home runs, 30 RBIs, 10 doubles, 34 runs scored and seven stolen bases in 50 games.
The 23-year-old has reached base in 38 of 39 games, boasting a .326 average with six home runs, eight doubles, 21 RBIs and 29 runs scored since April 10.
A first-round pick (14th overall) of the Boston Red Sox in the 2023 MLB Draft out of the University of Virginia, Teel was the centerpiece of a five-player trade last December that sent lefty pitcher Garrett Crochet to the Red Sox.
Teel made his professional debut on Aug. 3, 2023 in the Florida Complex League (FCL) with the FCL Red Sox. He was promoted to the High-A Greenville Drive a few days later on Aug. 9.
He began the 2024 season with the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs, ranked as the Red Sox’ No. 3 minor-league prospect by Baseball America. Last August, Teel was promoted to the Triple-A Worcester Red Sox.
The Bergen County native was the first player from North Jersey to be selected in the first round since Rob Kaminsky of St. Joseph (Montvale) was chosen 28th overall by the St. Louis Cardinals in 2013.
In three seasons playing for Virginia, Teel turned in one of the great seasons in program history. As a left-handed hitting catcher, he hit 13 home runs and batted .407, the sixth-highest batting average ever for a Virginia hitter at the time. He racked up a school-record 25 doubles and drove in 69 runs all while starting each of the Cavaliers 65 games behind the plate.
As a four-year starter at Mahwah High School, Teel was named Gatorade New Jersey High School Player of the Year in 2020. In his final season at Mahwah, his junior year, he batted .574 with eight home runs and 31 RBIs. He was rated as New Jersey’s top prospect in the class of 2020 by multiple organizations.
A dual-sport athlete, Teel was also a three-year starter at quarterback for the Thunderbirds’ football team. He signed with Virginia in late fall 2019 after verbally committing to the Cavaliers as a freshman.
Teel likely would have been drafted high out of high school, but opted out of the 2020 Draft that April after the high school and NCAA seasons were canceled due to the COVID pandemic. At the time, Teel was a senior at Mahwah and projected to be picked in the top three rounds.
The White Sox open a three-game weekend homestand against Kansas City on June 6.
