‘Teel of the Draft’
Many are singing the Red Sox praises after the organization took Virginia catcher Kyle Teel with the 14th overall pick in this year’s MLB Draft. Slated as the top catcher prospect available, Teel was the ACC Player of the Year this spring after hitting .407 (105-for-258) with 69 RBI, 25 doubles and 13 home runs.
His athleticism has drawn comparisons to future Hall of Famer Buster Posey, and pundants believe he is the Sox’s best catcher prospect since Jason Varitek.
If anything, though, he’s got a good first name.
Brierley steps down at Amesbury
Amesbury varsity baseball coach Joel Brierley announced he is walking away to spend more time with his family. In six season with the program, he compiled a 55-49 record while leading the Redhawks to back-to-back Division 4 Quarterfinals over the last two years.
After a tough 1-6 start this spring, Brierley helped to guide Amesbury to a home playoff game and two postseason wins.
“I will be stepping down to spend more time with my three little kids,” said Brierley. “I want to say thank you to Glen Gearin and Elizabeth McAndrews for giving me this opportunity six years ago.”
Freiermuth in rare company
If Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth — the former Pentucket and Brooks School star — catches 60 or more passes in the 2023 season, he will become the first tight end in NFL history to catch at least 60 passes in his first three seasons.
Freiermuth caught exactly 60 passes as a rookie in 2021 and 63 passes in 2022, joining former All-Pro Keith Jackson as the only tight ends to top 60 catches in each of their first two seasons.
By comparison, Pats great Rob Gronkowski caught 42 passes as a rookie, but jumped to 90 grabs the next season. Travis Kelce lost most of his rookie season to injury then had 67 catches his second season, and George Kittle had 43 and 88 catches in his first two seasons.
West Newbury’s Greason an All-Star
It’s always fun to find, and highlight, local talent competing at high schools outside of our coverage area. That’s exactly what we have with West Newbury native Kyle Greason, a rising-junior at Pingree, who was just named a Salem News Boys Tennis All-Star.
Greason finished his sophomore season with a 7-1 record, was also selected to the Eastern Independent League All-Star team, and maintains a 4.25 weighted GPA.
Figueroa with Lakers
Lawrence’s L.J. Figueroa is on the Los Angeles Lakers’ 2023 summer league roster. He played in this past week’s California Classic, and is expected to play in the NBA 2K24 Summer League in Las Vegas (July 7-17).
Figueroa spent the 2022-23 season as a member of the South Bay Lakers, LA’s NBA G-League affiliate, averaging 13.0 points and 5.1 rebounds a game.
Email: kgaudette@newburyportnews.com.