r/whitesox • u/Chronically_IL • 1d ago
Opinion Kyle Teel
This is NOT a trash talking post or snarky/critical post about my beloved Sox or Kyle Teel, who I have mad love & respect for; it’s a genuine question I’d love to hear thoughts on:
Kyle Teel (imho) is a great defensive player—not only does he do everything he can to get the ball where it needs to be, minimizing the damage from a potential or actual wild pitch, etc.; he’s also been clutch wrt ABS challenges & has a great eye when he’s playing catcher.
However, when he’s batting, I’ve often seen him swing at pitches that are nowhere near the strike zone (admittedly, he’s improving, & I was so proud of & happy for him for giving us our first hit in Game 5).
My question is: is it simply harder to properly eyeball & respond accordingly to a particular pitch when batting (as opposed to catching), or is this just a Teel thing that can be remedied with more practice?
I really like him & think he’s an asset to the team—not just talent-wise, but because he brings a lot of heart & passion to the game, no matter what the score or inning is—imho, he treats every single play like it could be the game changer, which I love. But if anyone has insight about why he seems to be really good at calling pitches properly as a catcher but not as much as a batter, chime in! All I ask is please, no disrespect or trashing the Sox or him—yes, Game 5 was really hard, but I’m proud of how far this team has come so quickly & love watching them. Go Sox!!! ❤️
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u/Nice_Situation_7575 1d ago
He’s a keeper. He will be better next year.
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1d ago
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u/notjustbymyself Quero 1d ago
Most ai comment of all time
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u/Chronically_IL 1d ago
If I was a bot, I’d have remembered to calculate his injury into things. Hardly AI. I’m a Sox fan of decades who still has the first Sox cap I was given at 3, a Piercznski jersey, Frank Thomas jersey, Vargas & Murikami, plus a lot of more general Sox gear, like pennants & Minnie Minoso’s “baseball card” that was given out at his funeral, which I not only attended, but I was invited to sit with the family bc of having gotten acquainted with him at a Sox Fest one year & having him let me wear his WS ring for a minute. Die hard HUMAN SOX FAN here, thanks.
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u/Evangelosian 1d ago
When he’s locked in and not pressing at the plate, he’s fantastic. Think his injury really rattled his year (obviously), but he’s great behind the plate. Some of those challenges in the first 4 playoff games were massive
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u/Overall_Falcon_8526 1d ago
He seems to have bought into the "swing hard 100% of the time" thinking, which tends to be very feast or famine in terms of results. Not ideal for a short series against good pitching.
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u/SlagginOff Go Sox! 1d ago
Describes pretty much the whole team except for Ant, Vargas, and Peters.
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u/Overall_Falcon_8526 1d ago
I would say Antonacci, Peters, and Meidroth, but yeah.
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u/SlagginOff Go Sox! 1d ago
Yeah Meidroth was good overall too. Just had some big strikeouts with men on base in the losses. But I guess pretty much everyone did.
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u/Overall_Falcon_8526 1d ago
Everyone had strikeouts, but Chase at least went the other way for a few big RBIs. I feel like Vargas's hits were all pull side near misses.
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u/Zestyclose-Sleep2290 1d ago
Kyle Teel was a slightly above average batter this year, just sayin.
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u/Chronically_IL 1d ago
Yes, & I saw the improvements! My question was just about whether it’s easier to accurately determine when a pitch is on or out of the zone as catcher, rather than as batter. Either way, I have tremendous respect for & faith in him & love watching him! ❤️
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u/ChristmasJay83 1d ago
He hit some absolute rockets (100+ off the bat) that were caught,
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u/Chronically_IL 1d ago
Agree. It wasn’t an attempt to knock him at all—it was a question that was nicely answered by one of the commenters (that it’s easier to call pitches accurately as a catcher than a batter). I love Kyle & can’t wait to see him next year!
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u/capncrunch94 1d ago
Being a below average batter as a catcher is fine, not good, but fine. Probably the most excusable position to be a below average batter if you’re a good catcher.
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u/Chronically_IL 1d ago edited 1d ago
I think he’s a great catcher. He’s young & has some room to grow still, but he’s saved us many times by not letting bad pitches put batters on base or scoring, & his challenges have a very high accuracy rate. I’m looking forward to seeing him improve & keep playing for us as passionately as he does!
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u/Hessian14 1d ago
The perspective is completely different. Imagine holding a thin picture frame in front of your face. If someone throws a ball at the frame you should be able to pretty easily tell if the ball was high in the frame, low in the frame, left or right. Now imagine standing with a picture frame next to you. As the balls go through the frame, it will be harder to tell exactly how far to the left or right of the center the ball lands. If a ball is on your outside, it might be hard to tell if it just made it inside the frame or just went outside of the frame
Two more things. First, Teel has the ball in his hand just after it passed over the plate so he can compare where it was when it hit his hand vs where he pictures the strike zone to be. Second, he has received way more pitches as the catcher than he has seen as a batter so it only makes sense for those instincts to be sharper
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u/Chronically_IL 1d ago
Thank you—that’s exactly the kind of answer I was hoping for—clearly explained & very helpful. I appreciate your thoughts. I love Kyle & think he’s going to just keep getting better, & I’m excited for it!
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u/jlrc2 Southpaw! 1d ago
Kyle swung at pitches outside the zone at a rate pretty close to league average this season. In his rookie season, he was close to an elite level of patience but he was more aggressive in his short season this year. It looks like he came out of the gates with a more aggressive approach in general, including faster swing speed as measured by Statcast. Usually such things don't come for free; it's hard to swing the bat very fast at a good pitch to hit and hold off on pitches that are meant to deceive you into thinking they are good to hit but are actually difficult to hit or unhittable.
I actually think if there was much cause for concern about Kyle, it's arguably more that he has a tendency to miss on his swings against pitches in the zone. He had that last season too, although the combination of that tendency and chasing more often led to a very high rate of strikeouts in 2026. He'll have to straighten that out but I'm not too worried about it.
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u/Chronically_IL 1d ago
That’s a totally legit take. And I really think with enough experience & maybe a better hitting coach, he can be great at offense & defense. He’s gotten better at using challenges more sparingly but accurately, & I saw some improvements in some of his postseason ABs. I really enjoy watching him!
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u/sirotka33 Thomas 1d ago
em dashes everywhere. i see you, ai op.
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u/Chronically_IL 1d ago
That’s called I have a degree in English & was part of my law journal’s staff. Sheesh. Hardly AI.
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u/Blaze6181 1d ago
Humanity should claim the em dash. People should use it more and take back the AI stigma against it.
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u/Twanlx2000 1d ago
Yeah, as someone who has em dashed for 30 years (along with a healthy number of semicolons), it's incredibly frustrating that it's only associated with AI.
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u/eiss0 1d ago
Tiny sample size but in the WBC (before he got hurt for the fist time) he was 4/6 with a walk and homerun. Albiet against worse pitching than MLB (maybe not?) but I think he was geared for a big season at the plate before injuries derailed him. He was also much better in 2025.
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u/Chronically_IL 1d ago
I had forgotten the injury factor. Ty for the reminder. And Idk some of the comments seemed like people thought I was trashing Teel, when it’s the opposite—I love him & we need him on this team—I was just trying to make sense of that question I asked. ❤️
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u/SpecialAircraft Murakami 1d ago
He’s the best catcher in this organization and it’s not even particularly close imo. He barely got to play in the regular season and he did have some massive hits in the playoffs plus all of those clutch challenges. He’s the catcher of the future, just needs to stay healthy.
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u/Chronically_IL 1d ago
I agree, & I love him! This wasn’t a Teel trash talk post. I just wondered if it’s easier to correctly call balls & strikes as catcher, versus at bat. I also had momentarily forgotten about his injury, but yes—he’s a keeper for sure & an awesome player & person! 🖤
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u/abactore 1d ago
It’s definitely easier to judge balls and strikes as a catcher than a batter. Catchers know their pitchers well, how their pitches move, know what pitch is coming. and just have a better overall view of home plate.
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u/Chronically_IL 1d ago
Thank you—that answers my question perfectly! I’m excited to see him again next season! 🖤
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u/nousernameseriously 1d ago
When he is catching he has the luxury of catching the ball and making a decision. When he is batting he has to make a decision much faster, almost as soon as the pitcher releases the ball. Much more processing power is being used when batting than when catching.
Also, he looks like Jesse from Breaking Bad.
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u/Chronically_IL 1d ago
This makes a lot of sense—ty! I kind of thought that might be the case but wasn’t sure & didn’t want to assume. 😊
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u/DerangedProtege 1d ago
He had t been great defensively. Hes great compared to Quero.
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u/Chronically_IL 1d ago
Yes, I mentioned his great defense skills on the post. This wasn’t intended to criticize him—I love Kyle! ❤️ I was just wondering if it’s easier to see whether a pitch is a ball or strike as catcher, versus at bat: 🖤
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u/trash235 1d ago
I’d let Teel have a full season at the dish. He’s extremely talented.
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u/Chronically_IL 1d ago edited 1d ago
Right, I agree. That’s why I mentioned that he’s a great player in many respects (to the point where even sports casters have given him some credit on ABS challenges & catching/fielding wild pitches. All I was asking was if it’s easier for him to know where a pitch falls in the zone as a catcher than as a batter. Go Sox (& of course, I include Teel in my go Sox mention!)!! 😊
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u/trash235 1d ago
My guess as a guy who didn’t play baseball beyond elementary school is that at bat, you have to guess a little earlier and start your swing. Behind the plate, he’s seen a ton of pitches and could probably umpire.
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u/Chronically_IL 1d ago
7/8 on post-season challenges that were successful. He’s a force, for sure!
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u/trash235 1d ago
I’m a big fan. I think he has potential to be one of the league’s best catchers and an even bigger part of the leadership core if he can stay healthy.
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u/Total_Corgi_8428 1d ago
I’m a fan of his intangibles for sure, seems like a true professional, loves the game, willing to make adjustments etc.
The jury is completely out for me when it comes to his offense. I do think if he is going to improve into a viable threat, it likely will happen next season so we won’t have to wait long to find out.
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u/Penstripedsox Montgomery 1d ago
he had pretty much a lost year with all the injuries. i think he is a better hitter than his performance this year showed.
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u/buzzardluck 1d ago
Yes, hitting is different than catching! It's a different process to judge balls+strikes and how much a pitch is going to break in both positions.
Think of it this way too. When catching, he knows what pitch is coming and has caught that exact pitcher 1000% times. Hes seen that pitch before. When hitting that is not true
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u/Ok_Understanding3712 1d ago
He missed 75-80% of the season... hard to gauge where hes at. That being said, I believe hes gonna be a solid major leaguer. Realmuto-ish is what im hoping for
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u/LegalComplaint Genghis Hahn 13h ago
He’s a pretty good player. Small sample size due to injury. Outside of that, he has the look of a catcher who’s going to be a manager in 2 decades.
Offensively, he’s a catcher. Outside of rare hall of famers like Mauer or Piazza, it’s not a position known for hitting. I’m good if he consistently hits .250 with 20HR a year. I think that’s reasonable given his profile.
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u/Ada_Kaleh22 1d ago
Didn't he hit great at the end of the season? He looked good this year for sure.
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u/Chronically_IL 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yes, I acknowledged his improvements & specifically, him getting the first hit for us in Game 5. My question wasn’t a Teel is bad post—it was just about whether it’s easier to be more accurate at correctly determining if a pitch is in the zone when he’s behind the plate as catcher. He’s part of our team’s core, & I’m excited about seeing him in action next season! 😊
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u/Ada_Kaleh22 1d ago
He wasn't the only one whiffing at the air tho. That happens when the pitcher is able to disguise his pitch, so that the batter expects a completely different location.
For all the Sox they do have to improve on the strike outs for sure. But Teel made solid strides this year, he's a keeper!
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u/Chronically_IL 1d ago
Agree he’s a keeper & said so. I was just asking if maybe it’s easier to accurately call pitches behind the plate than AB. I think he’s a major asset to this team & am so glad we got him this year!
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u/Ok-Sherbet-507 1d ago
His catching ability is good I believe, I don’t have the stats to back it up. Some of the challenges that he shouldn’t have challenged is highlighted in this sub but I think he did it for the protection of the momentum and the confidence of his pitcher. Sure, we would love for him to hit more. But, as the positional value stands, he has done exceptional as a catcher. Hopefully he works on hitting this offseason
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u/Chronically_IL 1d ago
I agree completely & highlighted his challenges bc they’ve been really clutch many times. I love Kyle & his dedication & talent. I was just asking if it’s easier to be accurate when assessing pitches as catcher than when he’s batting. And I know he’s going to be even better next time—you can tell how much he cares, & it’s part of why I love this team.
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u/Various-Chapter-2499 5h ago
He will be an above average catcher in time. He is still young and has a lot of room to grow. He just needs to be able to stay healthy.
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u/Chronically_IL 5h ago
I think he’s already a good catcher who will get even better! And I suspect he’ll get better AB as well. I’m excited to have him back next year!
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u/Buzzard1022 1d ago
lol, he's NOT a great defensive player
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u/Chronically_IL 1d ago
Respectfully disagree. Even the commentators who typically pick at the Sox have talked about what a good catcher he is & how many of his challenges have been crucial. He also sustained an injury & is young. And while you have the right to feel otherwise, I specifically asked for no trashing or criticizing the Sox in my post. Please keep this kind of negativity elsewhere. Ty. Peace.
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u/BentJohnsonFTP 1d ago
Your opinion, that he's a great defensive catcher, is incorrect.
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u/Chronically_IL 1d ago
I specifically requested no criticisms of the Sox in my post. Respectfully, could you honor that? He’s been great in many clutch situations as catcher, & he’s prevented a lot of hits & runs. I asked a question that was very specific; I also asked for folks not to put negativity ab the Sox on the comments.
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u/312jg 1d ago
Eh give him some time, he barley got to play this year. Literally ANYTHING is better than Romo