25 articles
BOS • Outfielder • #3
8 days ago
Those two are joined by Steven Kwan in the outfield. Other AL winners include pitcher Max Fried, catcher Dillon Dingler, first baseman Ty France, second baseman Marcus Semien, third baseman Maikel Garcia, shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. and utilityman Mauricio Dubón. Semien getting the nod over Andrés Giménez seems like the biggest upset, though Giménez, who won the previous three years, did miss a bunch of time. Dingler over Alejandro Kirk also rates as a modest surprise.
BOS • Outfielder • #3
about 2 months ago
With the victory, Boston clinches a playoff berth for the first time since 2021. Facing an early 3-0 deficit, the Red Sox chipped away with single runs in the fourth, seventh and eighth innings to draw even. Romy Gonzalez smacked a one-out single off of Tigers reliever Tommy Kahnle in the ninth inning and Rafaela followed by swatting an RBI triple off the wall in left-center, sending the Fenway faithful into an absolute frenzy. The 25-year-old outfielder finished the night 2-for-4 and is now hitting .247/.292/.412 with 16 homers, 63 RBI and 19 stolen bases on the season.
BOS • Outfielder • #3
about 2 months ago
The Red Sox faced an early 3-0 deficit in this one, but they chipped away with single runs in the fourth, seventh and eighth innings to draw even. Romy Gonzalez then smacked a one-out single off of Tommy Kahnle in the ninth inning and Rafaela followed by swatting an RBI triple off the wall in left-center, sending the Fenway faithful into an absolute frenzy. The 25-year-old outfielder finished the night 2-for-4 and is now hitting .247/.292/.412 with 16 homers, 63 RBI and 19 stolen bases on the season.
BOS • Outfielder • #3
2 months ago
The Red Sox blew a 5-1 lead in the sixth tonight, falling behind 7-5, but they scored all of the remaining runs from there, getting the last four with two outs in the eighth. Rafaela, who started in center, made a brief appearance at second base and later returned to center tonight, drove in four runs for the second time this season. The other occasion was a five-RBI game against the Guardians back in April.
BOS • Outfielder • #3
3 months ago
Rafaela’s first home run since last month’s All-Star break came at a pivotal moment for Boston as he took Orioles lefty closer Keegan Akin deep to left field for a game-changing blast in the top of the ninth. The 24-year-old breakout sensation has endured a tough second half at the dish, but his immense power/speed combo talent remains undeniable. He’s consistently shown up in big moments like this, which is why he’ll be an X-factor to watch in the postseason, if the Red Sox make it there.
BOS • Outfielder • #3
3 months ago
It’s a mental break for Rafaela amid a prolonged second-half slump where he’s batting .194 (20-for-103) with zero homers and five steals in 28 games. He recorded 14 homers and 13 thefts in 92 first-half contests. It’s fair to wonder if the move to second base on a more frequent basis has been a contributing factor in his recent struggles.
Source: MLB.com
BOS • Outfielder • #3
3 months ago
After a slow first month of the season, Rafaela has hit .278/.307/.498 in 78 games since May 1st with 12 home runs, 43 runs scored, and seven steals. He has emerged as one of the better center fielders in baseball, and the extension the Red Sox signed him to last year is looking like a tremendous piece of business. He’s fantasy-relevant in all formats.
BOS • Outfielder • #3
4 months ago
Rafaela is back in center field on Saturday night following two consecutive starts at second base with Masataka Yoshida and Wilyer Abreu taking a seat against Dodgers lefty Clayton Kershaw. It’ll be Jarren Duran in left and Roman Anthony taking over in right. The 24-year-old has already logged seven appearances at the keystone, putting him on track to add second base eligibility next season — a potential game-changer for fantasy managers. He’s been one of the hottest hitters in baseball over the past two months and has firmly established himself as a top-25 fantasy outfielder.
Source: MLB.com
BOS • Outfielder • #3
4 months ago
Rafaela broke open a 2-1 game with a 352-foot home run in the sixth inning that left the bat at 99.3 mph. The 24-year-old now has 14 home runs and 48 RBI to go along with a .271/.314/.483 slash line in the first half. Rafaela was a top 40 overall prospect in baseball coming into last season and had some good moments, but struggled with consistency and wore down as the season went on. He came into spring training this year with far better plate discipline, and we’re seeing a legitimate breakout of a young star here. Kudos to you if you got early shares in fantasy leagues this year.
BOS • Outfielder • #3
4 months ago
It’s notable that Jarren Duran and Alex Bregman are back atop Boston’s lineup after Rafaela hit second on Saturday with Bregman taking a day off. Roman Anthony is locked into the third spot with Masataka Yoshida in the cleanup spot for the first time and Trevor Story hitting fifth. Rafaela — who will split time between center field and second base moving forward — has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball for nearly two months at this juncture and it appears he’ll continue getting opportunities to bat towards the middle of the lineup entering the second half.
Source: MLB.com
BOS • Outfielder • #3
4 months ago
Rafaela has been bumped up to the prime spot in Boston’s lineup as his multi-week hot streak shows zero signs of slowing down. The toolsy 24-year-old former top prospect has always flashes an impressive power/speed combo, but he’s made a legitimate leap in recent weeks, thanks to a newfound emphasis on lifting the ball. He’s batting .331 (47-for-142) with 11 homers, 27 RBI and five steals over 39 games since May 27. There’s enough evidence and sustained success to suggest that this hot streak isn’t a complete mirage.
Source: MLB.com
BOS • Outfielder • #3
4 months ago
Rafaela deserves more attention for what he’s doing right now. He jumped all over a 1-2 slider at his knees from Pete Fairbanks for a walk-off home run to send his Red Sox to victory. It was a shot too: traveling 406 feet, clearing the Green Monster, and winding up on the street behind the park. That came after Rafaela hit a two-out, game-tying single in the second inning just after Red Sox starter Hunter Dobbins had to leave this game due to injury. He’s been one of the hottest hitters in baseball lately with four homers in his last seven games. In fact, he’s taken legitmate strides forward as a player this season with an incredible .985 OPS over his last 30 games. His athleticism is shining through both in center field, where he’s incredible on defense, and at the plate, where something has clicked and allowed him to pull the lion’s share of his fly balls. This could be the blossoming of a special player in Boston.
BOS • Outfielder • #3
4 months ago
Rafaela had the go-ahead hit in the bottom of the seventh as Boston came back from being down 3-1. The Red Sox sat Rafaela on Wednesday to make room for the returning Masataka Yoshida in the lineup, but that simply can’t be a common arrangement. With his 112 OPS+ and excellent defense in center field, Rafaela has been Boston’s position player MVP to date.
BOS • Outfielder • #3
4 months ago
There is a legitimate All-Star case to be made for Rafaela. The 24-year-old came into today tenth in the entire American League in WAR thanks to his elite defense in center field, to go along with, now, 11 home runs, 38 RBI, and 11 steals. Much like last year, Rafaela started slowly, but he’s slashing .281/.316/.501 in 58 games since May 1 with nine home runs, 33 runs scored, 23 RBI, and four steals. His defense will keep him in the lineup, but his power/speed combo makes him fantasy viable when he’s hot.
BOS • Outfielder • #3
4 months ago
Rafaela contributed to Boston’s seven-run third inning with a two-run homer off Mitchell Parker. He drove in a third run with a double in the eighth but appeared to get shaken up as he fell trying to make it to third base on the double. He was replaced defensively in the bottom of the frame. While likely precautionary, it could be something to monitor. The 24-year-old outfielder is hitting .257/.301/.438 with 10 homers, 48 runs scored, 37 RBI, and 11 steals across 315 plate appearances.
BOS • Outfielder • #3
5 months ago
Thanks to his excellent defense in center, the much-maligned Rafaela has a case for being Boston’s top position player to date. He’s hitting a respectable .255/.303/.407 with seven homers, 28 RBI and 10 steals, and he should be in the mix for a Gold Glove with his work defensively. With playing time less likely to be an issue going forward, he should offer mixed-league value the rest of the way.
BOS • Outfielder • #3
5 months ago
Rafaela came up big with a solo homer in the sixth inning to break a 5-5 tie. He also drove in a run with a single earlier in the contest, and he’s now up to seven homers and 28 RBI with an OPS of .710 over 243 at-bats. There’s work to be done, but Rafaela has shown enough flashes of brilliance to believe the future is bright.
BOS • Outfielder • #3
5 months ago
There’s only one spot in one major league ballpark where one can hit a 308-foot homer, but Rafaela found it, dropping one just to the left of the Pesky Pole down the right field line at Fenway. Right fielder Matthew Lugo wouldn’t have caught it anyway, and with Abraham Toro on first, it probably would have been a game-ending double had it fallen in play. It was Rafaela’s lone hit in five at-bats today, but it was his fourth homer in his last seven games. He hit just two in his first 52 games.
BOS • Outfielder • #3
5 months ago
Doing his best to hold off Roman Anthony, Rafaela has hit three of his five homers this season in his last six games. He’s 12-for-25 during the current run, raising his OPS from .606 to .700. It’d be nice if the OPS continued to climb, but with his defense in center field, a .700 OPS is plenty sufficient to make him a quality regular.
BOS • Outfielder • #3
6 months ago
Raffaela made a baserunning mistake later that will be talked about as a key reason the Red Sox lost this one, but between his offense and defense, he was one of the few reasons they had a shot in the first place. The nice game hopefully concludes a 2-for-26 slump he’d been in the previous nine days.
BOS • Outfielder • #3
6 months ago
Rafaela’s balls in play today left the bat at 105.6 and 104.2 mph, upping his season hard-hit rate to 46%. He’s also made big gains with his 17.6 percent strikeout rate and 6.4 percent walk rate. (He came in at 26.4 percent and 2.6 percent, respectively, as a rookie). His .239/.298/.345 line obviously isn’t great, but everything else is trending in the right direction.
BOS • Outfielder • #3
7 months ago
Rafaela needed to start hitting since he’s likely the player currently holding off top prospect Romany Anthony from debuting with Boston. Yet, Rafaela is a talented young player in his own right and has a hit in nine of his last 12 games, going 12-for-44 (.272) with two home runs, nine RBI, and four steals over that span. Given that he also plays elite defense in center field, that’s going to convince the Red Sox to keep him in the lineup for the time being.
BOS • Outfielder • #3
7 months ago
Even though the Red Sox are facing a right-handed pitcher, Rob Refsnyder will start in left field with Jarren Duran shifting over to center. Rafaela is a Gold Glove caliber centerfielder, and he has cut his strikeout rate under 19 percent so far this season, which are obvious reasons for the Red Sox to keep him in the lineup. However, he still swings and misses too much, and he has Roman Anthony, the top prospect in baseball, breathing down his neck, so Rafaela will need to start producing soon before he becomes a super utility player.
BOS • Outfielder • #3
7 months ago
Rafaela has been mired in a season-long slump at the dish, hitting .219 (14-for-64) with one homer and four steals in 19 games. The 24-year-old has struggled to make hard contact this season with his average exit velocity (88.1 mph) ranking 186th out of 276 qualified hitters, per Statcast data. The plate skills have been better so far as he’s striking out only 17.1 percent of the time, but it seems to only be leading to more weak contact. The problem for Rafaela from a fantasy standpoint is that he’s the most likely to lose playing time once top prospect Roman Anthony arrives in the big leagues, which figures to be coming in the next few weeks, if not sooner.