Minor League Baseball

Chicago White Sox Prospect Kyle Teel Goes Yard Off Los Angeles Dodgers' Roki Sasaki

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki got bested by Chicago White Sox catcher Kyle Teel during a simulated game at spring training on Tuesday.
Sam Connon|
Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki (11) during workouts at Camelback Ranch-Glendale.
Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Roki Sasaki (11) during workouts at Camelback Ranch-Glendale. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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Chicago White SoxLos Angeles Dodgers

The Chicago White Sox are coming off the worst season in modern MLB history, still trying to find their footing in the midst of a grueling rebuild.

The Los Angeles Dodgers just won the World Series, then went out and added a few more All-Stars over the winter for good measure.

But for one simulated at-bat in February, the White Sox had bragging rights over the Dodgers.

Roki Sasaki took the mound for Los Angeles in a simulated game against Chicago down at spring training on Tuesday. The first batter he faced was catcher Kyle Teel.

Teel wound up going yard off Sasaki – the No. 1 prospect in baseball, per MLB Pipeline.

Teel is a much-hyped prospect himself, as MLB Pipeline has him ranked No. 3 at his position and No. 32 overall entering 2025. The 23-year-old backstop was one of the headlining prospects Chicago got back from the Boston Red Sox in December's blockbuster Garrett Crochet trade.

Sasaki proceeded to retire the next six batters he saw, according to the Los Angeles Times' Jack Harris. He lasted 3.0 innings in total.

The 23-year-old Japanese ace went 29-15 with a 2.10 ERA, 0.894 WHIP and 11.5 strikeouts per nine innings across his four seasons with the Chiba Lotte Marines. Teel, meanwhile, is batting .301 with 15 home runs, 29 doubles, 100 RBIs, 15 stolen bases and an .848 OPS through 138 career minor league games.

The White Sox and Dodgers will go head-to-head in the Cactus League twice – first on March 2, then again on March 8. The two teams have one regular season series on the books for 2025, which will take place in Los Angeles from July 1 to July 3.

Related MiLB Stories

  • GROVE STILL RAMPING UP: The shoulder injury that knocked Dodgers pitcher Michael Grove out of the 2024 postseason apparently disrupted his offseason throwing plan. CLICK HERE
  • COLÁS' BLUNDER GOES VIRAL: Oscar Colás got hit in the face by a fly ball in a spring training game, serving as a painful lowlight for the White Sox outfielder. CLICK HERE
  • SOX LOSE PITCHING PROSPECTS: Matt Duffy and Cole Tolbert, who finished 2024 with the Red Sox's Single-A affiliate, will miss all of 2025 recovering from Tommy John surgery. CLICK HERE

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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a staff writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and other "On SI'' baseball sites. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for “UCLA on SI’’ and won awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for “New England Patriots on SI’’ and was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk. Follow Sam on Twitter @SamConnon.

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