Boston Red Sox Prospects: Ceddanne Rafaela’s rise to stardom

Red Sox prospect Ceddanne Rafaela’s rise to stardom

It’s been maybe two hours since I tried telling everyone just how good Boston Red Sox prospect Ceddanne Rafaela is. So it feels like a good time to write another article about it.

Anyone who has watched him play a game this year probably understands how exciting he is. There’s a scary combination of power and speed, along with elite defense at a bunch of different positions.

Last week I got the privilege of watching him in-person for a series. The second game of that series I brought a friend (he’s a New York Yankees fan, go ahead boo him) along. Rafaela wasted absolutely zero time making an impression on Landfill (that’s my friend’s nickname and we love him for it).

I was keeping a running-tab on all the players, so he new a little bit about them. When Rafaela walked up to the plate I gave him the rundown and the centerfielder grounded out. Okay, nothing electric yet. Then in the bottom of the first, Rafaela made a ridiculous superman diving grab. My friend only could think of “wow”.

We were going over the speed, instincts, all that fun stuff that went into the web gem. Rafaela wasn’t content with just one good play though. He hit a sacrifice fly in the third inning. Then in the fifth, he went opposite field for a two-run homer.

In the sixth inning, Rafaela made another ridiculous defensive play. Sprinting backwards and making a leaping grab while crashing into the centerfield wall. What might have impressed Landfill most was that Rafaela threw a pure SEED to second baseman Nick Sogard while still sitting at the center field wall. I honestly think that’s what really won him over.

Let’s get an encore though, Rafaela hit an absolute no-doubter in the seventh inning for his second homer of the game. I’m really upset I didn’t get a video of this. Just a gorgeous pimp job by him after he hit it, and the camera on MiLB.TV didn’t get it because David Hamilton was running on the pitch so the camera was following him.

Needless to say, Landfill understood how ridiculous Rafaela is.

I noticed something the rest of the week though. It wasn’t just my friend. We were in Reading, PA for these games. Mostly Phillies fans were at the game, obviously. By the last few games of the six-game series, there was chatter every time he stepped up to the plate. I audibly heard someone say “this is the guy that robbed Guzman” to his wife.

Fans of a different team were excited to see him play. Rafaela didn’t let them down either. He made plenty of great plays in the field and had seven hits in the series (despite getting tossed in the fourth inning of the last game after a miserable call stole his eighth hit of the series away from him). In those seven hits, Rafaela had two doubles, two triples, and two home runs.

This season has been an awakening for a lot of Boston Red Sox fans. They are quickly becoming enamored with Ceddanne Rafaela. He’s constantly being compared to Mookie Betts on Twitter, that’s the stage we’re at.

And it looks like he’s taking his show on the road. He’s making fans in new cities simply by going out there during away games and showcasing his absolutely nuts skill-set. That’s not just the making of a top prospect, we’re seeing the rise into stardom for Rafaela. Away fans not only focusing, but telling other people to pay attention when he steps up to the plate. That sounds like something you’d hear when a Major League star on a rehab assignment is playing. Not a prospect who a lot of fans weren’t even talking about a few months ago.

Can I say it now? I’ve said it before. Screw it I’m saying it again. There are not 100 prospects better than Ceddanne Chipper Nicasio Marte Rafaela in baseball right now. And Boston Red Sox fans aren’t the only ones noticing his greatness anymore.