Ceddanne Rafaela chose spring training with the Red Sox over the WBC, (source)
Earlier this week, the countries participating in the World Baseball Classic released their rosters. It was announced that Red Sox top prospect Ceddanne Rafaela was not going to be a member of the Netherlands roster.
While Rafaela will not participate in the tournament, the 22-year-old was selected to make the Netherlands roster, but elected to focus on spring training with the Red Sox, per source.
Rafaela is currently ranked No. 86 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospects in baseball. While he won’t play in the WBC, he will likely get his chance at the Triple-A level to begin the season.
Rafaela is considered to be one of the best defensive players in the Red Sox entire organization.
The question about his overall game would be how his bat would translate to the major league level.
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.”
The top Red Sox prospect is showing his commitment to the organization this spring by getting ready for the upcoming 2023 campaign. Rafaela is a candidate to crack the Sox roster at some point in 2023.
Follow Chris on Twitter @ChrisHenrique
For additional Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, MLB and NFL content follow Beyond the Monster on Twitter @BeyondtheMnstr.
