Ceddanne Rafaela Fantasy Stats

Boston Red Sox center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela is not in the starting lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Cincinnati Reds. Rafaela had started the first two games of the season, but he'll open Sunday's game on the bench. Masataka Yoshida will make his first start of the year in left field, shifting Roman Anthony to designated hitter and Jarren Duran to center field. Rafaela has been off to an impressive start so far, hitting 3-for-9 with one run, one RBI, and one strikeout. He's also one of the most prominent defenders in baseball, so losing his glove in center field puts the Red Sox at a disadvantage. It makes sense to get Yoshida's left-handed bat in the lineup against Reds righty Rhett Lowder, although Rafaela did have reverse splits in 2025 (.720 OPS against right-handed pitching).

Boston Red Sox outfielders Roman Anthony and Ceddanne Rafaela had a scary moment on Friday when they collided in the outfield during the Grapefruit League game against the Atlanta Braves, but the two outfielders both ended up staying in the game. They are back in action on Saturday versus the Minnesota Twins, an excellent sign for Boston. Anthony, who was the top prospect in baseball at this time last year, will join Team USA soon for the World Baseball Classic. The 21-year-old has gone 3-for-16 at the plate with a double and four strikeouts so far in Grapefruit League play. He is set to be Boston's leadoff hitter in his first full year in the big leagues. Anthony looked the part in 257 at-bats in 2025, hitting .292/.396/.463 with eight homers and 32 RBI. He can be a top-10 fantasy outfielder in 2026. Rafaela, 25, is another rising Red Sox outfielder who already has two homers this spring. He's ranked as RotoBaller's No. 37 fantasy outfielder.

Boston Red Sox outfielder/infielder Ceddanne Rafaela might not shift positions as frequently in 2026. Recently, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said it was unlikely that Rafaela would play second base this season. Due to their logjam in the outfield, Rafaela played 24 games at second base in 2025. His defensive abilities are a much better fit in center field, as Rafaela committed three errors in a little over 20 games at the keystone. The Red Sox would rather have Rafaela in center field, a position where he won a Gold Glove this past season. If he remains in the outfield, Rafaela would likely lose his second-base eligibility, which would be a bummer for fantasy managers. The elite defensive ability in the outfield should keep Rafaela in center field on an everyday basis.

Boston Red Sox infielder/outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela continued his July power surge in a 4-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. Rafaela finished 1-for-3 with a two-run shot off Rays starter Ryan Pepiot, giving him five dingers in 11 games this month. The 24-year-old has gone 16-for-41 (.390) with six doubles, 15 RBI, and 10 runs in July, and his hot hitting goes back several weeks. Rafaela owned an uninspiring .647 OPS entering June, but that number has skyrocketed by 150 points in the past month and a half. He'll head into the second part of the season slashing .271/.314/.483 with 14 homers, 48 RBI, 55 runs, 13 steals, and an above-average 19.4% strikeout rate in 341 plate appearances. He's already just one HR away from tying the career-high 15 he hit last year in 152 games. With Rafaela ranking in the top 20% of hitters in xSLG and barrel rate, his spike in power looks legitimate.

Boston Red Sox infielder/outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela is starting in center field and is batting sixth on Sunday in the series finale against the division-rival Tampa Bay Rays and right-hander Ryan Pepiot at Fenway Park. Rafaela, who has been one of the hottest hitters in baseball for a while now, played second for the first time this year and hit out of the two-hole on Saturday with third baseman Alex Bregman resting. The 24-year-old hit a walk-off homer in the ninth on Friday night and is currently in the midst of a nine-game hitting streak in which he's batting .429 (15-for-35) with four home runs, six doubles, 13 RBI, nine runs scored and two stolen bases in 36 plate appearances. Not only is Rafaela one of the hottest hitters in the game right now, but he's hit .364 with two RBI in 11 career at-bats against Pepiot. Keep him in your starting lineups.

Boston Red Sox infielder/outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela was the hero in Friday night's 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Fenway Park, blasting a walk-off, two-run home run in the ninth inning to send the home fans away happy. Rafaela, who is starting at second base on Saturday, will now be rewarded with a move to the two-hole in the batting order against Rays right-hander Shane Baz. The 24-year-old has always been a marvel in the outfield with his glove, but he's starting to make improvements as a hitter in 2025 and is now slashing .271/.314/.477 with a .792 OPS, 13 home runs, 46 RBI, 54 runs and 12 stolen bases in 310 at-bats. He's hit .452 (14-for-31) with 13 RBI and nine runs in his last eight games and has batted .331 (47-for-142) with 11 homers, 27 RBI and five steals in 39 games since May 27. This resurgence appears to be for real.

Boston Red Sox outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela went 3-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 6-4 road win over the Washington Nationals. He also singled, doubled, scored twice, and was caught stealing. Rafaela notched his second-straight 20-double season with a two-bagger in the seventh, and would score a few batters later to make it 5-2 Red Sox. Then, in the ninth, he added a run of insurance with a solo shot off Nats' reliever Andrew Chafin -- his eleventh of the campaign -- to add a run of insurance. The Curacao native has been hot in recent days, picking up at least one hit in eight of his last nine appearances with four multi-hit performances in that time.

Boston Red Sox outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela was among the club's top performers in a 10-3 victory over the Washington Nationals on Saturday. Rafaela went 2-for-4 with his 10th home run of the year, a double, and three RBI in the rout. However, Rafaela had to exit after he fell rounding second on an eighth-inning double. He was tagged out on the play and didn't return in the bottom of the inning. The Red Sox shifted Nate Eaton from third base to center to replace Rafaela and brought in Marcelo Mayer to handle the hot corner. Fortunately, it appears Rafaela avoided an injury. "He's OK," manager Alex Cora said after the game. While Rafaela is known more for his tremendous defensive abilities than his hitting, the 24-year-old has shown encouraging signs at the plate in recent weeks. He has batted .307 (36-for-117) with eight homers, 18 RBI, and 18 runs scored since May 28. Overall, he's slashing .257/301/.438 with 37 RBI, 48 runs, and 11 steals in 315 plate appearances.

Boston Red Sox outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela will not be in his team's lineup on Wednesday for their road series finale with the hosting Seattle Mariners. It's just a routine day off for the 24-year-old, who has started all of Boston's previous 19 games. Teammate Kristian Campbell will operate center field and bat eighth in his stead. Rafaela has started June off on the right foot, hitting .273 (15-for-55) with two doubles, three home runs, three steals, five runs scored, and six RBI. His three long balls in the month are the most he's hit since last July (four). He's an excellent fielder and has the potential to be a menace on the base paths. However, the Curacao native hasn't yet found the hit tool he displayed in the minors during his major-league tenure.

Boston Red Sox catcher Carlos Narvaez is not present in Wednesday's starting lineup in Seattle against the Mariners. Connor Wong is doing the catching for left-hander Garrett Crochet and will hit ninth against Mariners right-hander Luis Castillo. Narvaez has gone off in the first half of 2025 to over starting duties behind the plate from Wong, although his xBA of .238 indicates he's due for plenty of regression in the second half. Wong had a strong 2024 season but has come back to Earth since and is slashing .179/.289/.179 since the start of May. Wong will not be attractive in DFS lineups against Castillo and has gone hitless against him in five career at-bats.