What Red Sox Top Prospect Ceddanne Rafaela Learned In First MLB Exposure

Highly touted Boston Red Sox prospect Ceddanne Rafaela got his first taste of the big leagues in the series against the Houston Astros.

After making his debut as a substitute Monday and collecting his first hit in the majors, the third-ranked Red Sox prospect by MLB Pipeline earned the first start of his career in Wednesday's 7-4 loss at Fenway Park.

From the call up to getting to live out his dream, it all had to be a surreal experience for the 22-year-old. But it was a learning opportunity as well.

"Just keep being myself," Rafaela told reporters on what he took away from his first couple Major League Baseball games, as seen on NESN postgame coverage. "Keep trying to help the team and give 100% every inning. That's the big part."

The learning curve for Rafaela was evident against Houston's difficult lefty starter Framber Valdez. Rafaela, who batted leadoff and played shortstop in the series finale, struck out swinging in his first at-bat on a 96 mph fastball away from him and up in the zone. Rafaela grounded out to shortstop in his next plate appearance.

But Rafaela took lessons from those encounters and was better suited to go up against Valdez in his third time to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning. Rafaela got the better of the matchup this time, driving a double to the base of the Green Monster to score Triston Casas.

The youngster then missed a good opportunity an inning later with the Red Sox trying to inch closer as he struck out against right-handed reliever Hector Neris with two runners on to end the frame.

The swings-and-misses from Rafaela against big-league pitching were to be expected. It would be hard to fathom that he would replicate what he did with Triple-A Worcester for the last month when he was scorching hot at the plate, recording 14 home runs in 48 games.

But Rafaela flashed what he can offer the Red Sox as a top of the order sparkplug with tremendous defensive versatility. And with lessons learned, he should be able to improve on this start.