Ceddanne Rafaela has made encouraging progress at the plate during a recent hot streak. The Boston Red Sox may like to see the young outfielder keep up Saturday’s out-of-character results.
Rafaela was Boston’s only starter to go hitless in a 10-7 victory over the New York Yankees, but he also drew two walks. Those are noticeable outcomes for the free swinger.
Before Saturday, Rafaela hadn’t garnered a walk since May 23. The 24-year-old had gone 12 games and 49 plate appearances without inducing a ball four.
Furthermore, Saturday marked Rafaela’s second two-walk game in 241 career MLB contests. He last accomplished the feat on Aug. 9, 2024.
Last year, Rafaela registered the lowest walk rate (2.6%) of any qualified hitter. He’s doubled that percentage to a still modest 5.3% in 2025 and is only three shy of matching last year’s 15 free passes in 344 fewer plate appearances.
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Rafaela is now batting .244/.293/.397 with six home runs and eight stolen bases entering Sunday night’s rubber match with the Yankees. He gave Boston something better than walks when going yard in three straight games earlier this week, including the shortest walk-off home run of the Statcast era on Wednesday.
Despite his aggressive approach, Rafaela remains one of Boston’s most valuable players because of his stellar glove work. According to FanGraphs, his 1.6 WAR places fourth among Red Sox hitters behind Alex Bregman, Rafael Devers, and Carlos Narváez.
Even if he doesn’t exude more patience, Rafaela has shown the skills to make a larger offensive impact.
The 165-pounder has hit the ball with much more authority in 2025, upping his average exit velocity from last year’s 86.6 mph to 90.0. Rafaela is making harder contact while hitting far fewer pop-ups, leading Statcast to calculate a .265 expected batting average and .474 expected slugging.
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As a result, Rafaela may have the tools to flourish without a keen batting eye. The Athletic’s Chad Jennings recently noted that Rafaela’s Statcast page resembles that of Pete Crow-Armstrong, an early MVP candidate who wields a National League-leading 3.9 WAR despite a 4.8 percent walk rate.
