Kyle Teel Emerging As MLB's Hottest Catcher Since All-Star Break

When Will Venable called on Kyle Teel off the bench in the sixth inning of Thursday’s series finale against the Rays, he was aiming for a kill shot. 

The White Sox had jumped to a 3-0 lead, and with the bases loaded with just one out, Venable was looking it put the game out of reach. Teel was called off the bench to pinch hit for Korey Lee, and proceeded to line the second pitch he saw to left field for a two-run single. 

The pinch-hit single gave Teel the longest active on-base streak in baseball at 20 games, and marked the longest on-base streak by a White Sox rookie since Jose Abreu in 2014. That streak was snapped following a 0-4 showing in the White Sox 4-0 loss to the Guardians on Friday. Teel was also left out of the lineup in the White Sox 3-1 loss on Saturday. However, his impact during the second half of the season has made him a clear piece to build around for the future. 

Since the All-Star break, Teel has emerged as the best offensive catcher in baseball. His .310 batting average and .391 on-base percentage since the break are the highest by any catcher in MLB, while his .906 OPS and 151 wRC+ are good enough for second. 

In 248 plate appearances this season, the rookie is slashing .284/.385/.431 with seven homers and 31 RBIs. Despite being just 23 years old, Teel has shown tremendous discipline at the plate. He currently owns a 12.5% walk rate, which would rank amongst the best in baseball if he had enough at-bats to qualify. He also owns a chase rate of just 23.9 percent, which has forced opposing pitchers to throw him more pitches in the zone. 

Not only has Teel shown the ability to lay off bad pitches, but he has also capitalized on mistakes in the strike zone. He owns an expected slugging percentage of .465, thanks in large part to his ability to pull the ball in the air. Over 64% of Teel’s contact has been in the air, with 22.2% of his batted balls being pulled in the air, placing him near the top of the MLB. 

Players with a similar profile include Matt Chapman, Francisco Lindor, and Ian Happ, who have a combined seven All-Star appearances. 

Teel isn’t just hitting, he is coming through in big spots for a young team hungry to avoid 100 losses for the third consecutive season. With runners in scoring position, the former first-round pick is hitting .420 with a 1.072 OPS. 

This includes a three-run blast on September 4th when the White Sox were trailing the Twins 7-4 in the seventh inning, a game the White Sox would go on to win 11-8. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Teel is hitting .313 with a 1.014 OPS. 

Simply put, if the White Sox require a big hit, Teel is the one you want at the plate.