Purple Sox
Rafaela blasted 20 dwelling runs over 108 mixed video games between Portland and Worcester this season.
Purple Sox prospect Ceddanne Rafaela’s glove and flexibility out on the sphere helped pave his path to the large leagues.
However the 22-year-old heart fielder/second baseman additionally has loads of pop on the plate.
Boston’s No. 3 prospect (in line with MLB.com) showcased his energy throughout Tuesday night time’s sport towards the Yankees, obliterating an inside fastball from New York stater Carlos Rodón for his first profession MLB dwelling run.
Rafaela, serving because the leadoff hitter within the second leg of Boston’s doubleheader towards New York, pounced on the primary pitch delivered by Rodón.
Rafaela’s behavior of chasing pitches out of the zone yielded bombastic outcomes on this at-bat, with the teenager turning on Rodón’s fastball and depositing it into the Inexperienced Monster for a leadoff dinger.
Rafaela’s blast clanged off the sunshine tower in left, with the pitch touring 400 toes.
Right here’s a take a look at Rafaela’s first big-league homer:
As famous by the Purple Sox’ J.P. Lengthy, the latest Purple Sox gamers to hit a leadoff homer on the age of twenty-two or youthful earlier than Rafaela had been Mookie Betts (2014-15), Ellis Burks (1987), and Reggie Smith (1967).
Rafaela’s energy surge shouldn’t come as a lot of a shock, given the manufacturing he generated within the minor leagues this season.
Alongside along with his sterling defensive play at each second base and heart area, Rafaela batted .302 with 20 dwelling runs with 79 RBIs over 108 mixed video games between Double-A Portland and Triple-A Worcester this season.
Rafaela has impressed throughout his restricted time up with Boston this month, batting .346 with three extra-base hits and two RBI over 13 video games. Plate self-discipline stands as one of many few areas for him to right, as he has struck out 12 instances over 26 at-bats.
He’s already collected one net gem out in heart with the Purple Sox, robbing Orioles proper fielder Anthony Santander of additional bases with a leaping snag on Sunday afternoon.
Publication Signup
Keep updated on all the newest information from Boston.com