The case for Ceddanne Rafaela to get some MVP votes

For the fourth time in the last six weeks, the Red Sox have swept a first-place team. This one goes down as the most impressive yet, with Sunday night's 8-4 victory capping off a three-game sweep of the MLB-best Dodgers in Los Angeles.

The star of the weekend? That would be Ceddanne Rafaela, who belted four home runs in the series. On Sunday, it was a leadoff shot to left-center in the top of the third that tied the game at 3-3. That was immediately followed by a Wilyer Abreu blast to give the Red Sox a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Rafaela is already well on his way to a second straight Gold Glove, with only the Cubs' Pete Crow-Armstrong grading out as a better center fielder in metrics like Fielding Run Value (where Rafaela ranks fourth among all players at +13 runs).

But what Rafaela is doing offensively this season should be opening up some discussion about another award: MVP. To be clear, we're not declaring that Rafaela should be the favorite for AL MVP. But get votes? That should be just about a lock, given that voters get to list 10 players on their ballots. Finish top five? That's a conversation worth having.

The discussion can start here: Rafaela entered Sunday ranked second in the AL in WAR (Wins Above Replacement) at 5.2, as calculated by Baseball-Reference. Only Tigers shortstop/third baseman Kevin McGonigle (5.6) is ahead of him. Houston's Yordan Alvarez, the overwhelming betting favorite at the moment, is actually just behind Rafaela at 5.1. Fangraphs, which has a different formula for WAR, has Rafaela fifth behind Alvarez, McGonigle, Royals shortstop Bobby Witt, and Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler.

Alvarez running away in the betting markets is understandable, as he currently leads the league in batting average, home runs and RBIs, positioning him to be baseball's first Triple Crown winner since Miguel Cabrera in 2012.

Rafaela should be firmly among the group of players following in Alvarez's wake, but that is not yet reflected in the betting odds. In fact, you won't even find Rafaela listed among the MVP candidates at most sportsbooks, which essentially places him outside the top 10. The Red Sox player who is listed is Willson Contreras, which makes sense given that Contreras has clearly been Boston's best offensive player and emotional leader.

But in an era of analytics and better ways to measure defensive value, it would be foolish to not recognize the advantage Rafaela has there over everyone else in this discussion with the possible exception of Witt, who is also an elite defender at a critical position up the middle.

Rafaela leads the AL in Baseball-Reference's defensive WAR. And now, he has also cracked into the top 10 in offensive WAR thanks to a red-hot past five weeks. In 27 games since July 1, Rafaela is hitting .314 with eight home runs, 22 RBIs, 21 runs scored, and an OPS over .900.

"He's otherworldly right now," interim manager Chad Tracy said of Rafaela on Saturday after his two home runs off Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto. "He's been outstanding, really good all year, obviously. The home runs on this road trip are showing up and so many of them have been massive home runs.

"I think it's safe to say he's been probably the most key contributor to some of these wins."

"Otherworldly" and "the most key contributor" for the hottest team in baseball. That seems pretty darn valuable.

It's a value, and an all-around game, recognized by third base coach Chad Epperson, who managed Rafaela in Double-A Portland.

"I compared him to Mookie Betts to the front office," Epperson told Rob Bradford as part of Sunday's "2-Minute Grill" on WEEI's pregame show. "...He's one of the most gifted players I personally have managed, and the kid wants to win."

"We've yet to see the best of him still," Epperson continued. "I mean, the All-Star selection this year. Gold Glove. This kid can win a Silver Slugger. This kid can be in contention for an MVP at some point in time."

Maybe that time is arriving even sooner than anticipated.