Teel homers, drives in career-high 6 runs in scorching start to '25

Kyle Teel is taking the "you only get one chance to make a first impression" mantra to heart.

Two games into his White Sox career, MLB's No. 32 prospect is serving notice that his time in the Minors might be nearing its conclusion. Teel went deep for a second straight game and drove in a career-high six runs while falling a triple shy of the cycle for Triple-A Charlotte, which rolled past Gwinnett, 12-4, on Saturday night at Truist Field.

The 23-year-old backstop is 5-for-9 with a pair of longballs and eight RBIs in his first two games for the Knights.

Teel kicked off his White Sox career in impressive fashion on Opening Night, slugging a solo homer and plating another with an RBI single in his first at-bat for Charlotte. However, the centerpiece of the deal that sent All-Star lefty Garrett Crochet to Boston, inflicted even more damage in game No. 2.

Teel opened the scoring with a double in the first, added a game-tying two-run single in the seventh and capped his career-best performance with a 110.9 mph homer to right-center field in the eighth. It was the second time in his career Chicago's No. 2 prospect has gone deep in consecutive games -- the first time coming last May 31-June 1 for Double-A Portland -- and his six RBIs bested his previous high of four, done four times last year.

Teel posted an .819 OPS and slugged a career-high 13 homers with 78 RBIs across two Minor League levels during his first full-season campaign in 2024, vaulting him to the upper echelon of not only young catchers, but all prospects. Less than two years after polishing off a standout collegiate career at Virginia, Boston's first-round pick (14th overall) in the 2023 Draft has his sights squarely on the Majors.

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If his first two games for Charlotte are any indication, Teel's Chicago debut might come sooner than expected. He'll just be wearing different colored socks when it happens.