Boston Red Sox prospect watch: Ceddanne Rafaela homered while I wrote this

Ceddanne Rafaela terrorizes Syracuse's announcer in this week's Boston Red Sox prospect watch

The Boston Red Sox have been tough to watch lately. There are some bright spots. But fans are sad, and they have every right to be. Even if you aren't expecting a team to contend, it's not fun to watch them lose. It makes it even less fun when the team is contending and then starts to falter.

There's still a lot of the season left, and this team has shown it can get hot before. So don't count them out yet. However, while you wait for them to heat up, why don't we talk about some prospects? Ceddanne Rafaela probably hit a home run while you were reading this, so that's cool.

Triston Casas is slashing .251/.353/.479 with 16 doubles, two triples, and 17 home runs. The left-handed hitting first baseman has driven in 41 runs and scored 47 more. Casas went from that miserable first month to finding himself in the running for rookie of the year.

Masataka Yoshida is the front-runner for that award, though. The left-handed hitting outfielder is slashing .306/.365/.482 with 25 doubles, three triples, and 12 home runs. He's driven in 54 runs, scored 56 more, and stolen eight bases.

Jarren Duran holds a .308/.357/.507 slash line with 32 doubles, two triples, and eight home runs. The left-handed hitting outfielder has driven in 39 runs, scored 44 more, and stolen 23 bases.

Connor Wong is slashing .238/.293/.383 with 20 doubles and six home runs. The right-handed hitting catcher has driven in 23 runs, scored 41 more, and stolen four bases. Wong should benefit from some extra off days with Reese McGuire back.

Brayan Bello allowed four runs over six innings of work in his lone start this week. The right-handed pitcher did strike out seven batters, though. Bello has a 3.79 ERA, .249 BAA, and 1.24 WHIP in 102 innings. He's struck out 89 batters compared to 28 walks.

Red Sox Double-A (Portland)

Nick Yorke is showing off some power again. The right-handed hitting second baseman has three home runs in his last five games. Yorke is slashing .271/.347/.453 with 14 doubles, five triples, and 12 home runs. He's driven in 45 runs, scored 54 more, and stolen eight bases.

Blaze Jordan has impressed in Double-A so far. The right-handed hitting corner infielder is slashing .247/.291/.452 in 19 games. Overall he holds a .308/.367/.517 slash line with 25 doubles, one triple, and 16 home runs between High-A and Double-A. Jordan has driven in 71 runs, scored 57 more, and stolen two bases.

Corey Rosier continues to be fantastic and hit another home run (and stole plenty of bases) this week. The left-handed hitting outfielder is slashing .306/.359/.478 with 17 doubles, five triples, and seven home runs in Double-A. He's driven in 33 runs, scored 48 more, and stolen 40 bases.

Tyler Dearden is one of the hottest hitters in the system. The left-handed hitting outfielder is slashing .257/.343/.394 with seven doubles, one triple, and five home runs. He's driven in 24 runs and scored 22 more. Dearden is 11-for-27 with five walks, three doubles, and two home runs in his last eight games.

Nathan Hickey is slashing .279/.373/.525 with 15 doubles, one triple, and 16 home runs between High-A and Double-A. The left-handed hitting catcher has driven in 43 runs, scored 47 more, and stolen three bases.

Phillip Sikes has struggled this year but has a chance to finish the year with strong numbers. The right-handed hitting outfielder is slashing .231/.316/.358 with 17 doubles, three triples, and six home runs. He's driven in 33 runs, scored 54 more, and stolen 35 bases.

Chase Meidroth homered this week. The right-handed hitting second baseman/third baseman is slashing .266/.398/.389 with 13 doubles, one triple, and seven home runs between High-A and Double-A. He's driven in 42 runs, scored 56 more, and stolen 11 bases.

Tyler McDonough has turned his season around nicely. The switch-hitting utility is slashing .226/.302/.351 with 13 doubles, one triple, and five home runs. He's driven in 29 runs, scored 32 more, and stolen 15 bases.

Elih Marrero's quietly putting together a solid offensive season to accompany his defense. The switch-hitting catcher is slashing .255/.386/.319 with six doubles. He's driven in seven runs, scored 15 more, and stolen eight bases.

Wikelman Gonzalez allowed two runs over five innings of work this week. The right-handed pitcher now has a 1.59 ERA, .109 BAA, and 0.88 WHIP in 17 innings in Double-A. He's struck out 23 batters compared to nine walks.

Isaac Coffey made two starts this week for a total of 10 innings. He allowed four runs and struck out 13 batters. The righty has a 2.98 ERA, .223 BAA, and 1.11 WHIP between High-A and Double-A. He's struck out 129 batters compared to 25 walks in 93 2/3 innings.

Luis Guerrero tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings over two relief appearances this week. The right-handed reliever didn't allow any hits and only one walk while striking out one batter. He has a 1.85 ERA, .158 BAA, and 1.28 WHIP in 39 innings. Guerrero has struck out 41 batters compared to 29 walks.

Christopher Troye allowed one run in 3 2/3 innings across two appearances this week. The righty reliever has a 3.28 ERA, .180 BAA, and 1.35 WHIP between High-A and Double-A. He's struck out 65 batters compared to 24 walks in 35 2/3 innings.

Red Sox High-A (Greenville)

Bryan Gonzalez has boosted his numbers big time. After a slow start, the right-handed hitting outfielder slashing .356/.413/.562 in July and is slashing .381/.435/.524 in August. He now holds a .266/.322/.434 slash line with 14 doubles, six triples, and nine home runs. Gonzalez has driven in 46 runs, scored 56 more, and stolen seven bases.

Tyler Miller is 8-for-13 with two doubles, three triples, and a home run in his last four games. The left-handed hitting corner infielder/corner outfielder is slashing .279/.337/.462 with 15 doubles, three triples, and eight home runs. He's driven in 40 runs, scored 35 more, and stolen 13 bases.

Roman Anthony cooled down and is still slashing .298/.428/.645 in High-A. The left-handed hitting outfielder has nine doubles, two triples, and 10 home runs in 34 games. He's driven in 24 runs, scored 28 more, and stolen two bases.

Brainer Bonaci is slashing .302/.352/.476 with 15 doubles, one triple, and nine home runs. The switch-hitting shortstop has driven in 38 runs, scored 33 more, and stolen six bases. Bones has been a consistent part of the middle of the order for Greenville.

Eddinson Paulino is 7-for-16 with two doubles and a home run in his last four games. The left-handed hitting utility is slashing .246/.325/.411 with 21 doubles, four triples, and 13 home runs. He's driven in 43 runs, scored 53 more, and stolen 22 bases.

Luis Perales allowed no earned runs in five innings this week, striking out 10 batters. The right-handed pitcher has allowed four earned runs in 12 innings of work in High-A. He's struck out 18 batters compared to seven walks.

Brock Bell has been phenomenal since June 10. In 21 innings, he's allowed three earned runs. Two of those came on June 22. The righty reliever has a 2.55 ERA, .232 BAA, and 1.05 WHIP in High-A. He has 24 strikeouts compared to four walks in 24 2/3 innings.

Felix Cepeda has dominated since his promotion to Greenville. The right-handed reliever has yet to allow a run in 7 2/3 innings. He's surrendered just three hits and two walks in that time. Meanwhile, Cepeda has seven strikeouts and has even picked up a save.

Red Sox Single-A (Salem)

Jedixson Paez is untouchable. The right-handed pitcher tossed another six scoreless innings this week. Since June 28, he has allowed two runs over 31 innings of work. Paez has a 3.36 ERA, .208 BAA, and 0.92 WHIP in 64 1/3 innings. He's struck out 51 batters and only walked nine.

Luis De La Rosa allowed one run in three innings over two appearances this week. The righty reliever has a 3.81 ERA, .216 BAA, and 1.40 WHIP in 52 innings. He's struck out 60 batters compared to 32 walks.

Gilberto Jimenez is "rehabbing" in Single-A. Technically you can't rehab in Single-A if you were in High-A, so the team assigned him to the level. The switch-hitting outfielder is 5-for-17 with one home run (a 10th-inning grand slam) at the level. He's driven in five runs and scored two more.

Mikey Romero is slashing .222/.275/.306 with four doubles and one triple in 18 games. The left-handed hitting shortstop has driven in eight runs, scored eight more, and stolen one base.

Yorberto Mejicano went 1-for-9 this week, but that one hit was a home run. The right-handed hitting catcher/first baseman is slashing .269/.349/.434 with five doubles, two triples, and five home runs. He's driven in 18 runs, scored 25 more, and stolen four bases.

Albert Feliz is following up a strong July with a great start to August, slashing .313/.421/.500 a few days in. The right-handed hitting outfielder holds a .241/.321/.366 slash line with 13 doubles, one triple, and four home runs. He's driven in 28 runs and scored 25 more.

Jhostynxon Garcia might not have kept up the insane production from the week before, but he still produced this week. The right-handed hitting outfielder is slashing .225/.328/.355 with 11 doubles, one triple, and three home runs. He's driven in 18 runs, scored 32 more, and stolen four bases.

Lyonell James is 4-for-10 with a walk and two doubles in his last four games. The right-handed hitting corner infielder is slashing .243/.313/.324 with 11 doubles and three home runs. He's driven in 39 runs, scored 31 more, and stolen two bases.