Inside The Red Sox

Watch Red Sox Prospect Ceddanne Rafaela's Insane Defensive Highlights

Rafaela could be the Red Sox's next Gold Glove winner
Scott Neville|
Watch Red Sox Prospect Ceddanne Rafaela's Insane Defensive Highlights
Watch Red Sox Prospect Ceddanne Rafaela's Insane Defensive Highlights

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Boston Red Sox

Ceddanne Rafaela might be the most-electric Boston Red Sox prospect in the entire farm system after a ridiculous breakout season.

Rafaela started the year as the No. 28 prospect but jumped all the way up to No. 3 according to MLB Pipeline after a season where he could do no wrong. 

The 22-year-old was named Baseball America's Red Sox Minor League Player of the Year and was named to Major League Baseball's Futures Game during the All-Star break. 

The Red Sox named Rafaela the organization's Minor League Defensive Player of the Year, which was extremely well warranted. 

The versatile Rafaela logged 92 games in center field, 21 games at shortstop and one game at second base this season. The rising prospect also has logged time at third base and corner outfield in previous seasons.

The budding star has drawn many comparisons to Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts, who shined in both the infield and outfield while coming up the system. Whether he meets those lofty expectations or not, he ability to flash the leather is undisputed.

Here are the top plays from Rafaela's breakout campaign:

One from last year just for fun:

The bulk of Rafaela's playing time was in the outfield, which swayed the amount of highlights out there, but he's no slouch in the infield either. Wherever he ends up on the diamond, he will serve as a defensive asset.

Rafaela can hit too, he posted a .299 average with 63 extra-base hits including 21 home runs, 86 RBIs, 28 steals (in 35 attempts) and a .880 OPS in 116 games between High-A Greenville and Double-A Portland.

Rafaela will be one of the top prospects to watch during the 2023 campaign.

More MLB: Here's Eight Teams Reportedly In Pursuit Of Red Sox's Xander Bogaerts

Published
Scott Neville
SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer.  His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu

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