Inside The Red Sox

Breakout Star Ceddanne Rafaela Wins Red Sox Minor League Player Of Year

Rafaela was the fastest rising prospect in the organization this season.

Scott Neville

Breakout Star Ceddanne Rafaela Wins Red Sox Minor League Player Of Year
Breakout Star Ceddanne Rafaela Wins Red Sox Minor League Player Of Year /
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The Boston Red Sox entered the season with a myriad of promising prospects but the one who had the best overall season was vastly overlooked. 

Ceddanne Rafaela was named Baseball America's Red Sox Minor League Player of the Year on Tuesday, and for good reason. 

The versatile 22-year-old hit .299 with an organization-leading 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.

At an unassuming 5-foot-8, 152 pounds, Rafaela entered the season as the Red Sox's No. 28 prospect according to MLB Pipeline and has since climbed all the way up to No. 3.

On top of a breakout season offensively, Rafaela has become one of the best defenders in professional baseball. He's considered to be a Gold Glove caliber center fielder already and can play shortstop at an elite level as well.

Rafaela could become a highly impactful player at the major league level. He's already one of the best defenders in the game but will have to continue to prove himself at the plate. 

The biggest flaw in his game is his plate discipline. Rafaela posted a concerning 113-to-26 strikeout-to-walk ratio this season. Those numbers already are concerning and likely will get worse against higher-level pitching.

Still, he's showing the potential to be a five-tool player after about as strong of a breakout year as a player can have. 

More MLB: Watch Red Sox Prospect Ceddanne Rafaela Blast Playoff-Clinching Grand Slam

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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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