As we approach the new year, the White Sox will look to continue to improve their team through multiple avenues. The White Sox will likely make a few free agent additions, a few trades, and a selection or two in the Rule-5 draft.
Perhaps the biggest improvement for the team can come from the young players continuing to get better, as most of their rookies had very good seasons. If they can continue to improve, the White Sox may take another big jump in terms of wins.
At this point in the offseason, we can take a look at projections for each player on the roster, as it is always interesting to see what the baseball media outlets think the individual performances on the White Sox will be. The first player we take a look at is catcher Kyle Teel.
According to FanGraphs Steamer projections, they project him to hit .249 with a .337 OBP over 92 games. They think he will only hit 11 homeruns and add only 49 RBIs. These stats will equate to 1.7 WAR.
Quite honestly, I don't understand these projections. Teel had a very good rookie year and it didn't seem to be due to any inflated statistics. Teel looked extremely comfortable and by every indication, he will continue to improve next season. While there are always sophomore slumps, if there is one, I don't think it will be that much of a regression for Teel, especially when you look at what he did last year.
In 2024, Teel played in 78 games, hitting .273 with eight homeruns, 35 RBIs, and a fantastic .375 OBP. He slugged .411 and had a very good .786 OPS. For a rookie catcher in his first taste of the major leagues, this is very impressive.
153 days to Opening Day
— SleeperWhiteSox (@SleeperWhiteSox) October 24, 2025
Random 2025 moment 17/169
Kyle Teel launches a homer to open the scoring against Baltimore!
Predict how many he hits next year👇pic.twitter.com/2pQjL7MjZE
According to Baseball Reference, he accumulated 1.9 WAR, which is impressive in just 78 games. If you take that over a full season, he is sitting at 4+ WAR. That would be among the best in the league at the catcher position.
I find it hard to believe that Teel would have less WAR in more projected games, especially considering the fact he was a highly touted prospect, so it's not like this impressive debut was out of nowhere. I also doubt he will regress by .024 points on his average and almost .040 points on his OBP. He showed elite plate discipline and his underlying stats were certainly there.
While there certainly could be some regression in his sophomore year, I doubt it will be by that much. Baseball Reference's projections are more what I would expect from Teel, as they project him to hit .271 with a .361 OBP. However, similarly to FanGraphs, they only project 11 homeruns and 48 RBIs.
I would expect Teel to hit somewhere in the .270s with an .375ish OBP, adding 15-20 homeruns and 60 RBIs. It took a bit for the power to come around last season for Teel but it certainly was there. He will never be a 40 homerun guy, but he hits the ball in the gaps and hits it hard. Expect Teel to have another fantastic season and cement himself as the catch of the future for the White Sox.
