The Boston Red Sox enter play on Friday at 53-42 on the season. That record is good enough to have them in sole possession of third place in the American League Wild Card positioning. Furthermore, they are now just 4.5 games back of the Baltimore Orioles in the American League East race.
One of the main reasons for the Sox' success this year has been speedy utility player Ceddanne Rafaela. Entering the season as one of the top prospects in all of baseball, Rafaela has played shortstop and the outfield for this roster, helping create roster flexibility and helping the team to stomach the loss of Trevor Story, who is out for the season.
An evolving offensive player, he's also one of just five rookies in baseball history to put up this set of numbers before the All-Star break.
For a solid portion of the season, Rafaela actually led the Red Sox in RBI. Rafael Devers has surpassed him as the team leader but Rafaela has been doing major damage from the bottom of the order.
He's hitting .246 this season with 11 homers, 11 steals and 52 RBI.
The Red Sox will kick off the second half on Friday night with a series at the slumping Los Angeles Dodgers. First pitch is set for 10:10 p.m. ET.
