Ceddanne Rafaela attacked the offseason looking to improve as a better hitter
Last week, The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked every single Major League Baseball club’s farm system. His rankings were not kind to the Red Sox, for better or for worse, Sox fans voiced their opinions on social media.
There is one thing that everyone can agree on, Ceddanne Rafaela is one Red Sox prospect we’ll have our eyes on this spring.
Law recently ranked Rafaela No. 2 overall in his Top-20 prospects in the Sox system. The 22-year-old will come into camp this spring with expectations that he could impact the big league club before the year is over.
Rafaela is a dynamic player, his glove is major league ready and he’s shown off his positional versatility in the Sox system. Law wrote that Rafaela has “emerged as a potential 70 or 80 defender in center.”
While at the Red Sox Rookie Development Program, Rafaela was asked what he imagines his first game at Fenway Park will be like.
“Positionally, utility player,” Rafaela said. “To play everywhere, that’s what got me here. So, I can play every position. Offensively, just get on base and try to score runs to help the team win. Just play where the team puts me and help the team win… Just try to get more base on balls. That’s maybe going to help me more this year, and if I get on base, it’s going to be more runs for the team and we can win more ballgames.”
Rafaela attacked this offseason on becoming a better hitter which includes improving his pitch recognition. “Yes, of course, that was my main focus,” said Rafaela to MLB.com’s Ian Browne. “This offseason, it was really about controlling the zone to be ready. Every flip, every BP session I took, I tried to control the zone.”
Law on Rafaela and his approach at the plate, “Rafaela swings first and asks questions later, with a very fast bat and excellent bat control that helps him make contact even on pitches out of the zone, although it also leads to a lot of weaker contact on those same pitches. He doesn’t miss fastballs and actually hangs in there (pun intended) well on curveballs, but given how high he starts his hands, he doesn’t always have time to adjust on other pitches, and he’s going to have to start to pick them up sooner out of pitchers’ hands,” wrote Law.
The native of Curaçao, had a successful season in 2022. In 116 games -- 45 for High-A Greenville and 71 for Double-A Portland -- the right-handed hitter had a line of .299/.342/.538 with 32 doubles, 10 triples, 21 homers and 28 stolen bases.
Rafaela will likely be a lock to start the 2023 season at Triple-A Worcester. Despite the promotion to play at Polar Park, he will have his eyes on bright lights of Fenway Park. “As a player, everyone wants to start in the big leagues, but it's not up to me. I’ll just work hard to earn the chance to start here [in Boston],” Rafaela said.
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Very excited to see this kid play in person. Might be reason enough for me to take my first trip to Polar Park...and bring my 7 and 5 year old boys for their first live, professional baseball game!