Red Sox top talent Kyle Teel is “ready for the big league”

Sox Talk with Will Middlebrooks is a recurring content series on NESN.com. Middlebrooks, a former Red Sox player and current NESN analyst, offers his insights and opinions on key Red Sox stories throughout the season. You can read the latest stories from the series here.

Like Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony, top talent Kyle Teel is just one step away from joining the Boston Red Sox after being promoted to Triple-A Worcester last week.

Teel will continue his development at Worcester for now, but Will Middlebrooks, the 2013 Red Sox World Series champion, believes the 22-year-old catcher already has certain skills that would benefit him in the major leagues.

“He’s a very good hitter, but I think he’s a guy who puts defense first,” Middlebrooks told NESN.com. “I think on defense, he’s major league ready now. You just see how he takes the throws, how he calls the plays, he’s very good at blocking. He’s got a very strong arm. His batting average is around 1.9, which is about league average right now in the major leagues, so there’s still room for improvement.”

Teel spent three seasons in college baseball and developed into a mature player who is now perhaps even more capable than Mayer and Anthony.

That helped Teel go through an accelerated process in the Red Sox farm system, as Boston had selected the Virginia product with the No. 14 pick just over a year ago. He went through three levels of minor league baseball in just a few months and was impressive during his rise.

The left-hander posted a .298 batting average in 84 games with Double-A Portland this season, second-best in the Eastern League behind only Mayer. Teel also had 11 home runs and 60 RBIs, along with nine stolen bases, during his time with the Sea Dogs this year.

Triple-A, however, proved challenging for Teel early on. He recorded just two hits in his first 21 at-bats on Wednesday. Teel can always rely on his good defense to hold up in any lineup, but his hitting performance should be as good as it has been at other levels.

“Obviously the bat is playing,” Middlebrooks said. “He actually runs a lot better than I thought he would. You see him move and you think, ‘That’s a catcher?’ We saw that with Connor (Wong). He’s not a speed guy like Connor Wong, but he’s also built more like a catcher.”

Before being drafted by the Red Sox, Teel was most often compared to seven-time All-Star and 2012 National League MVP Buster Posey. Teel’s athleticism and ability to move behind the plate reminded coaches and critics of Posey. It would certainly be a slam dunk for the Red Sox if Teel developed into a player of that caliber.

Boston could bring Teel to the major leagues as soon as next season with his valuable skills. The Red Sox could have an open catcher spot next to Wong, as Danny Jansen is about to become a free agent.

But Teel doesn’t have to be Posey or anyone else once he gets there.

“I hate comparing guys and saying, ‘Oh, that’s his comparison,’ because I don’t want to say he has to be like that,” Middlebrooks said. “No, he has to be Kyle Teel because he’s going to be a good player.”