The White Sox might finally be doing the right thing with their top hitting prospect

Kyle Teel is the No. 2 prospect in the Chicago White Sox organization and the No. 28 prospect on all of baseball. He proved why in the month of May.

Teel hit .333 with five home runs and an OPS of 1.058 in May while playing for the Triple-A Charlotte Knights. In 23 of his last 26 games, Teel has recorded a hit. That earned him the honors of being named the White Sox Minor League position player of the month.

It's pretty clear that Teel is knocking on the door of a Major League call-up. He certainly looks like he's ready for the big leagues. Unfortunately, the White Sox have failed him with how they've deployed him defensively this season.

White Sox have not used Teel's versatility

One of the big reasons GM Chris Getz was excited to land Teel as the headliner of the Garrett Crochet trade was because of his defensive versatility. With Edgar Quero and Korey Lee already in the organization, the White Sox are loaded at catcher.

Teel played some outfield in college at Virginia and is athletic enough to come out from behind the plate and thrive. If Quero and Teel both develop into quality MLB catchers, Teel's versatility allows them to be in the lineup at the same time. Or at least, that was the idea when the Crochet deal went down. Up to this point, the Sox have not executed on that plan.

Teel has played 268 innings at catcher in Triple-A this season. He has made 17 starts as the designated hitter. But he has not played a single inning at a different position in over 1,000 career minor league innings.

It's a big miss by the White Sox. I've called them out in the past for how they're setting Teel up to fail for this very reason. Fortunately, it sounds like the Sox are finally going to do the right thing.

Teel is getting work at first base

According to Scott Merkin of MLB.com, Teel is starting to get work at first base during pregame infield with Charlotte.

With Andrew Vaughn being sent down to the minor leagues, there are legitimate concerns about his future in Chicago.

Tim Elko has been incredible in Triple-A and flashed some power during his brief MLB stint, but I still think he has more to prove before the Sox can count on him being a fixture of their lineup in the future.

First base would not have been my first choice for Teel. He's more valuable if he sticks as a catcher or left fielder in the big leagues, but it makes sense given the team's immediate need.

If it gets him called up sooner and explores his ability to play positions other than catcher, it's a positive development in my eyes. It's a good sign that the White Sox are trying this out with how well Teel has been hitting recently.