Red Sox First-Round Pick ‘Always Looked Up’ To Jason Varitek

It had been over a decade since the Boston Red Sox selected a catcher in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft.

But for the first time since they picked Blake Swhihart in 2011, the Red Sox used their first-round selection on a backstop by plucking University of Virginia catcher Kyle Teel at No. 14 overall Sunday night.

Teel, who was named the 2023 ACC Player of the Year, had a standout career with the Cavaliers, including this past season when he helped lead Virginia to the College World Series by batting .407 with 13 home runs and 69 RBIs.

The Red Sox certainly wouldn’t mind if Teel ended up blossoming into the organization’s next franchise catcher like Jason Varitek was in the 2000s. That would be quite fine for Teel, too, especially since he admires Varitek.

“I’ve always looked up to him,” Teel told reporters after getting drafted, per the Boston Herald’s Gabrielle Starr.

Teel will get the chance to work with Varitek at some point during his development with the Red Sox, something that excites the 21-year-old. Varitek, who retired prior to the 2012 season, now serves as the game planning coordinator and catching coach with the Red Sox.

There are some similarities between Teel and Varitek as they both went to ACC schools — Varitek attended Georgia Tech — and played in the Cape Cod Baseball League. Coincidentally enough, they both were the 14th overall selection in their respective drafts.

Teel doesn’t have the same build as Varitek, at least not yet anyways. Varitek stood at 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds while Teel is a much leaner 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds.

But if Teel can turn into the next version of Varitek — a lofty standard no doubt — it will be a home run pick by the Red Sox.