Ceddanne Rafaela DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

Boston Red Sox outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela is on the bench to start Saturday's contest against the visiting St. Louis Cardinals at Fenway Park. Second baseman Kristian Campbell is starting in center field and batting seventh, and David Hamilton will start at second base and bat eighth against Cardinals right-hander Andre Pallante. Rafaela has been hitting at the bottom of Boston's batting order early on in 2025 and has started out slow offensively, going 3-for-26 with three RBI, two runs scored, two walks and four strikeouts in his first eight games played. The 24-year-old was needed on the infield a lot in his rookie year in 2024 due to an injury to Trevor Story, but hopefully he can get settled in offensively eventually now that he'll be staying in center field on a full-time basis this year.

Boston Red Sox catcher Connor Wong and outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela are not in the starting nine on Saturday when they continue a four-game set against the Texas Rangers. Wong got the starting nod in each of the first two games and went 1-for-7 at the plate with a 1:1 BB:K. Rafaela started in each of the first two games as well and covered center field, and went 0-for-8 at the plate. As a result, Carlos Narvaez will get the start behind the dish and Jarren Duran will shift to center field, which opens left field for Kristian Campbell, and allows David Hamilton to enter the lineup and cover the keystone. Fantasy managers should expect both Wong and Rafaela to return to the starting nine for the final game of the series on Sunday afternoon. Narvaez and Hamilton are not worth considering in DFS facing Texas right-hander Tyler Mahle.

Boston Red Sox outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela (hamstring) is in Saturday's lineup. He will cover center field and bat in the cleanup. Rafaela has dealt with hamstring tightness throughout the week but has been cleared for action. Seeing him return to the lineup suggests he will not face any restrictions by Opening Day. Last season, the 24-year-old appeared in a career-high 152 contests and held a .246/.274/.390 slash line. He tallied 23 doubles, five triples and 15 home runs. He swiped 19 bags but was caught stealing 10 times. However, he generated a weak .229 xBA with a low 36.3 percent hard-hit rate. He held a high 26.4 percent strikeout rate with a low 2.6 percent walk rate. When healthy, fantasy managers should expect Rafaela to see most of his time in center field with occasional starts at second base and shortstop.