The Red Sox have a hole to fill at shortstop after trading Kiké Hernández to the Dodgers this week. Luckily, they have a great candidate waiting in the wings.
Ceddanne Rafaela is Boston’s No. 2 prospect, according to MLB.com. The 22-year-old plays both shortstop and centerfield and has rocketed through the system after starting last season at High A Greenville. He was promoted to Double A Portland midway through last season and got called up to Triple A Worcester on June 28. While Rafaela is a well-rounded player, his best attribute might be his speed. And not only is he fast on the base paths—he’s remarkably aggressive.
Rafaela showed off that willingness to take the extra base in Thursday night’s game against the Rochester Red Wings. When José Ureña threw a pitch in the dirt, Rafaela took off for second. And he didn’t stop there. Catcher Drew Millas’s throw was wide and went into the outfield, allowing Rafaela to go to third. When center fielder Derek Hill casually lobbed the ball back to the infield, Rafaela took advantage and dashed for home.
"The most exciting man in Minor League Baseball has done something marvelous yet again!"
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) July 28, 2023
You can't take your eyes off the electrifying Ceddanne Rafaela: https://t.co/1BYP94JBet@WooSox | @RedSox | @LT__Murray pic.twitter.com/4fw47crsK2
Just to make it perfectly clear, Rafaela wasn’t trying to steal second on the play. He took a normal secondary lead as Ureña delivered the pitch, then took off running once the catcher had a difficult time corralling it. Just getting to second on the play would have been impressive enough. The bad throw allowed him to get to third and then he was smart enough to look behind him and see that Hill was taking his sweet time, allowing him to head for home.
This isn’t this first time this season Rafaela has done something like that. In a game in May, he stole seven bases and scored on an errant throw from the catcher to the pitcher. He’s always got his head on a swivel.
