Red Sox Exec Highly Impressed By Rapid Rise Of Ceddanne Rafaela

Boston Red Sox standout prospect Ceddanne Rafaela has just about been the hottest hitter on the planet since the calendar flipped to August.

The 22-year-old homered in five straight games for Triple-A Worcester and once that streak ended Saturday, all he did was go 3-for-5 at the plate with two RBIs.

It has been an incredibly impressive tear for Rafaela, who is already known for his excellent defensive play and is ranked as Boston’s No. 2 prospect behind Marcelo Mayer by MLB Pipeline. The offensive outburst certainly has brought more attention to Rafaela, including from those in the Red Sox front office.

“Really, I think more than not skipping a beat, taking a step forward from what he was doing in Double-A,” Red Sox senior vice president of baseball operations Ben Crockett told NESN’s Tom Caron on Tuesday, per the network. “It really has been impressive. Obviously, on an incredible streak, right. Something that you just don’t see at all, and credit to him. He’s such a great athlete. We all know about the defense, the versatility, the contact ability. And I think what he’s shown with power of late as well as some of the swing decisions of recent has been great to see and things he will continue to work on.”

Rafaela only hit six homers this season in 60 games with Double-A Portland and has nearly doubled that output during his time spent with Worcester since being promoted in late June. He’s hitting .328 with 11 round-trippers and 29 RBIs in 31 games.

The Red Sox hoped for Rafaela to improve his plate discipline as he continued his journey through the minor leagues, and he’s checked that box, too. Rafaela walked four times and hit a homer in a game against the Syracuse Mets last week.

“He’s a great kid. He certainly has bought in from the get-go in terms of what those goals are,” Crockett said. “But he’s a really talented kid that can do it in a lot of ways. I think the continued reps and doing it in Triple-A has really helped improve his game.”