October 6, 2023 at 12:00 PM
2023 SoxProspects.com Awards: Player of the Year
Player of the Year
Ceddanne Rafaela is a repeat Player of the Year, as he won this award last year as well after a breakout season. Rafaela took another huge leap in 2023, and it ended with him getting some time in Boston. He showed off his wide skill set, playing multiple positions well, running the bases at a high level, and taking his offense to new heights. After being named the Red Sox Minor League Defensive Player of the Year in 2022, Rafaela earned the Sox' Minor League Baserunner of the Year honor in 2023.
Rafaela came out of spring training starting at Double-A with Portland. In our April rankings, he was the fourth-ranked prospect. He started off the season well at the plate, hitting .303 with a .745 OPS in the month of April, but he started to struggle in May. In the second month of the year, Rafaela hit just .228/.287/.348 in 101 plate appearances. However, he bounced back in a huge way in June, leading to a promotion to Worcester. Rafaela's best stretch in Portland was a 15-game run from June 2 through June 18, where he hit .400/.424/.600 with six doubles, two home runs, and 10 stolen bases.
After going just 6 for 33 to start out with the WooSox, Rafaela hit another monster stretch that didn't stop. From July 7 through August 27, the day before his promotion to the show, Rafaela hit .337 with a 1.065 OPS in 184 plate appearances. He showed off some ridiculous power in this run, with 13 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs, and 40 RBI. At one point, he homered in five consecutive games. For his efforts, Rafaela was named the SoxProspects.com Player of the Month for July. He also won a pair of Player of the Week awards as well.
Rafaela got a chance in Boston at the end of the season for 28 games. He hit .241/.281/.386 (78 OPS+) for the Sox. He mostly played center field but saw a handful of starts as shortstop as well as some limited time at second base. That was pretty much where Rafaela played in the minors, starting in center field for most of his time, with spot starts at short here and there. He hit two home runs and six doubles for the Red Sox to go along with three stolen bases.
As of right now, Rafaela has risen to the No. 4 spot on the SoxProspects.com list. He is also currently the 72nd-ranked prospect at MLB.com and entered this season as the 49th-ranked prospect at Fangraphs. In April, Rafaela was also ranked the 70th prospect at Baseball America. BA's staff also recently released their best tools in Triple-A list, with Rafaela being named their best defensive center fielder.
The 23-year-old was signed as an international free agent back in 2017. Since then, he has gotten better and better with each passing season, and it has now resulted in back-to-back SoxProspects.com Player of the Year awards.
Photo Credit: Ceddanne Rafaela by Kelly O'Connor