Red Sox High-A (Greenville)
There were a few candidates to headline this week, but it had to go to Ceddanne Rafaela. In wrestling there’s always that signature moment or match that people look back on and said “that’s when they became a star”. For Rafaela, his signature moment as a Red Sox prospect came this week. And it will be looked back as the moment that fans finally started to really pay attention to him.
This week saw Rafaela have a couple good games, none better than when he hit for the cycle. Picking up a single, then a double, then a triple, and finally a home run. On the year, the right-handed hitter is slashing .315/.358/.580. He’s already picked up 12 doubles, two triples, and nine home runs (his career-high is 10). Rafaela’s run production is out of this world with 29 RBI, 34 runs scored and 11 steals. Elite defense being displayed all over the field too. Everyone knows who he is now.
Matthew Lugo started off scorching hot, but cooled off considerably for a bit. Now the shortstop is back to raking at a ridiculous level. The right-handed hitter is slashing .324/.380/.588 with 11 doubles, five triples, and five home runs. He’s driven in 28 runs and scored 21 more, stealing six bases.
Nicholas Northcut is slashing .252/.307/.646 with five doubles and an otherworldly 15 home runs on the year. The right-handed hitter has 32 runs batted in and 20 more runs scored. It’s hard to complain too much because the power has been insane, but he has had a bit of a strikeout problem (52) compared to just seven walks. Northcut did draw a walk in his last game though and if he can get those numbers up a bit it’s scary to think of the damage he could do.
Alex Binelas has been getting his numbers back up recently. The left-handed hitter holds a .267/.410/.542 slash line with three doubles and 10 home runs. He’s driven in 28 runs and scored 28 more. Meanwhile Binelas has some deceptive speed, stealing six bases in six attempts.
Nick Yorke really feels like he’s on the cusp of breaking out at any moment. He’s had a lot of hard-hit balls that have led to outs lately. The overall .254/.329/.373 slash line with four doubles and four home runs isn’t bad. But with some luck it could’ve been a lot better. Anyone watching can see the hits will start falling soon though. The right-handed hitter has 18 RBI and 24 runs scored, to go along with five steals.
Tyler McDonough is slashing .231/.329/.434 with seven doubles, two triples, and six home runs. The switch-hitter has 20 runs driven in and 26 runs scored, going 8-for-8 in stolen base attempts so far. While his average hasn’t been great, he’s produced nicely everywhere else offensively. So you shouldn’t be worried.
Gilberto Jimenez is slashing .262/.302/.459 with seven doubles, one triple, and five home runs. The switch-hitter has 14 runs batted in, 19 more runs scored, and eight steals. Jimenez has added some power, but the average has dipped and the strikeouts have gone up. This is mainly due to a change in his swing. Hopefully he can right the ship in those categories as he gets more comfortable though. That speed is still just absolutely insane.
Ryan Zeferjahn is quietly having himself a fantastic year. And the right-handed pitcher had a great performance this week, tossing 3 1/3 shutout innings in relief. Zeferjahn has a 2.84 ERA, .182 BAA, and 1.16 WHIP in eight appearances out of the bullpen this year. The reliever has 20 strikeouts over 19 innings pitched.