Red Sox Promote Ceddanne Rafaela
Welcome to the show, Ceddanne Rafaela.
The Red Sox are “underdogs” (Chaim Bloom’s self imposed words, not mine. Still not sure how he’s not embarrassed by that or aware of the fact that he runs a big market club, but whatever. That’s another side note) to make the playoffs, but will get a shot in the arm with the promotion of one of their better prospects.
The Red Sox have announced the news prior to their game tonight. Rafaela is being called up after a wave of roster moves. Most notably Wilyer Abreu getting sent to the paternity list.
Abreu was just called up last week. A new birth in the family will take him away from the big league club for a few days. I mentioned this in the Abreu link earlier, but the Red Sox have some serious competition going on in the outfield. Rafaela has a chance to take the job and run with it if he shines during his promotion.
Rafaela, 22, was signed by Boston as a teenager out of Curaçao for $10K. Not a bad investment considering that he’s quickly become one of their most heralded prospects. Rafaela has drawn comparisons to Mookie Betts and is considered the best defensive prospect in the system. Rafaela can play the infield and outfield. He’s also tearing the cover off the ball in the minors slashing .302/.349/.520 between Double-A and Triple-A.
Rafaela isn’t a failproof prospect. His plate discipline is the biggest question mark entering the big leagues. He’s notched 103 strikeouts in 108 games in the minors and has only drawn 26 total walks. The guy swings at everything and I’m just not sure how that’s going to translate to the MLB. I guess we’re about to find out.
