By DJ Harding
After making his Triple-A debut in June for Worcester, Ceddanne Rafaela has been on a tear. Through 33 games Rafaela has batted .319 with 44 hits, 11 homers, and 30 RBIs.
“My confidence has gone up because of the good start. Usually when you struggle, it’s low, so it’s definitely boosted my confidence,” Ceddanne told me about the hot start.
Part of that hot start included a five game home run streak from Aug. 1 to Aug. 5. “It was something special that I’ve never done and to see it happen inspired me to keep working and get better.”
Manager Chad Tracy commented on Rafaela during a press conference and said “he oozes with talent and it shows he’s gotten better at not swinging at balls and getting better with plate discipline. Obviously there’s still work to do but he’s also a phenomenal defender.”
Tracy also compared him to Mookie Betts. I told Rafaela and he responded saying “It’s obviously special to be compared to someone huge in the game and it keeps me going to know that I’m being compared to him and want to get to that level.”
I also asked him about any differences he noticed in his game recently. “ I think I’ve been having more fun. I’ve seen that the more fun I have the better I play,” Rafaela said.
This is also a big lesson he’s learned in his journey of baseball about having fun. Part of that fun is listening to music pregame even if it’s as he put mostly motivational songs and not having any superstitions.
Whatever his tactics are they must be working as Rafela is on a current 10-game hitting streak and had a 14-game hitting streak. Whether he gets called up or not is a bit unknown, but what is known is Ceddanne Rafeala is on a tear since he’s gotten to Worcester.