Red Sox prospect Ceddanne Rafaela with his first homer of the spring
The Red Sox resumed Grapefruit League play on Tuesday after having Monday off. Boston traveled to Bradenton, Florida to play the Pittsburgh Pirates at LECOM Park. The Pirates would defeat Nick Pivetta and the Sox 6-2.
The Red Sox scored their only two runs off the bat of Ceddanne Rafaela. The 21-year-old prospect hit his first homer of the spring in the top of the ninth. His two-run homer would score fellow prospect Nick Yorke who walked in the inning.
Rafaela is currently ranked as Boston’s No. 24 prospect with SoxProspects. He was originally signed out of Curaçao for just $10,000 as a 16-year-old international free agent back in 2017.
With Low-A Salem this season, Rafaela played in 102 games slashing .251/.305/.424 with 10 home runs and driving in 53 RBIs.
The native of Curaçao was named the organization’s Defensive Player of the Year for 2021. Rafaela played all over the Diamond for Low-A Salem showing off his versatility within the Sox system.
Baseball America scouting report profiles Rafaela as “having unexpected bat speed is particularly apparent against lefties (.267/.304/.627 with four homers). His speed shows up on the bases and in the field, where Rafaela takes excellent routes and jumps on hard-to-reach contact to the outfield. His arm grades as above-average to plus in both the infield and outfield. His bat-to-ball skills are a double-edged sword, as he had a reasonable 18.3% strikeout rate but with a tendency to chase pitches on which he made weak contact. His 5.8% walk rate is concerning, and he’ll need to hone his approach to have a chance to be more than a glove-first reserve.”
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