Red Sox offensive prospect of the year – Ceddanne Rafaela
There were a lot of amazing candidates for the Offensive Prospect of the Year award. Ceddanne Rafaela had to take it home though. He was a production monster in every category and dominated at two different levels in the minor leagues.
The right-handed hitter posted a .299/.342/.538 slash line with 32 doubles, 10 triples, and 21 home runs between High-A and Double-A this season. He drove in 86 runs, scored 82 more, and stole 28 bases.
Rafaela showed major signs of an offensive explosion as the year went on in 2021. He didn’t just live up to the expectations, but he blew them out of the water. And he’s now shown that he can be productive in every facet of the game for a full season.
This was a wild year. We’re talking prime Mookie Betts/Jose Altuve-type production. The run-scoring was there, and he drove in a ton of runs. Loads of doubles and double-digit triples show off a combination of power and speed. Do you know what else shows off a combination of power and speed though? A 20/20 season.
Hitting 21 home runs and stealing 28 bases feels like something that should have been talked about more. Don’t get me wrong, Red Sox Nation has fallen in love with Rafaela. But it still feels like the national media is a little hesitant about that. Putting up that slash line and all those numbers deserves more respect though.
That’s something I think we’ll see next year. His combination of power, speed, and defense makes Rafaela a truly unique prospect. Plenty of people have that, sure. But not many have all of them at such a high level.
Something else that needs to be brought to everyone’s attention is that at this time last year, Rafaela was on the Low-A roster. Just 12 months later and he’s terrorizing Double-A pitching at absurd levels. Scary.
As I mentioned before, there were some strong candidates for this award. You’ll see them in the honorable mentions. But what you’ll also notice is that Rafaela managed to outdo them in nearly every category. It was truly an elite season.
Honorable Mention:
(SS) Marcelo Mayer: 19-year-old left-handed hitter slashed .280/.399/.489 with 45 extra-base hits, 53 RBI, 61 runs, and went 17-for-17 in stolen base attempts between Low-A and High-A.
(1B) Niko Kavadas: 23-year-old slashed left-handed hitter .280/.443/.547 with 52 extra-base hits, 86 RBI, 71 runs, one steal, and 102 walks between Low-A, High-A, and Double-A.
(UM) Eddinson Paulino: 20-year-old left-handed hitter slashed .266/.359/.469 with 58 extra-base hits, 66 RBI, 96 runs, and 27 steals in Low-A.
(SS) Matthew Lugo: 21-year-old slashed right-handed hitter .282/.338/.492 with 54 extra-base hits, 79 RBI, 77 runs, and 20 steals between High-A and Double-A.
(3B) Blaze Jordan: 19-year-old right-handed hitter slashed .289/.363/.445 with 45 extra-base hits, 68 RBI, 60 runs, and five steals between Low-A and High-A.