This story was excerpted from Ian Browne’s Red Sox Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

When late August and the first couple weeks of September went south in a hurry for the Red Sox, the club shifted into “Let the kids play” mode.

And that isn’t a bad thing.

The Red Sox have at least two prospects who look poised to play key roles on the team next season, and possibly a third.

The one who has really stood out so far is Wilyer Abreu, the club’s No. 17 prospect according to MLB Pipeline. The other one is a much more known prospect in Ceddanne Rafaela, ranked 72nd in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100.

When the Red Sox traded longtime catcher Christian Vázquez on Aug. 1, 2022 to the Astros for two left-handed hitting prospects, it was a move that didn’t play particularly well at the time in the clubhouse or in Red Sox Nation.

But Abreu has changed the narrative in a hurry and the other player acquired in the deal, Enmanuel Valdez, has shown glimpses also, especially with his bat.

Manager Alex Cora said people in the clubhouse have taken to calling Abreu, Rafaela and Valdez the three amigos, though Valdez was optioned to Triple-A following the first game of a doubleheader on Tuesday.

The impressive thing about the 5-foot-10, 215-pound Abreu is the quality of his at-bats. As in, he never gives an at-bat away.

For a 24-year-old with limited Major League experience, his maturity and patience at the plate is impressive.

Abreu’s bat has been the storyline for most of his first three weeks in the Major Leagues. But on Tuesday night, his arm came to the forefront when he fired a bullet home to nail Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who didn’t even have time to slide.

Looking ahead to next season, the Red Sox have Masataka Yoshida, Jarren Duran, Alex Verdugo and Abreu all in the fold to play the outfield. It will be interesting to see how or if the club clears that log-jam of left-handed hitters, but Abreu is making a statement that he should be a significant part of the mix.

The Red Sox have played Abreu in all three outfield spots so far, but right field is where his arm would play the best.

As for Rafaela, his tools are obvious every time he steps on the field. On Sunday, he showed off the defense everyone has been talking about for years when he jumped and then basically glided against the wall in center to take extra bases away from Baltimore’s Anthony Santander.

Two days later, he mashed his first Major League homer, a towering drive that hit about halfway off one of the light towers behind the Green Monster.

Cora would rather be in the middle of the postseason race, but he likes what he sees with some intriguing prospects knocking on the door to surround a core of Rafael Devers, Triston Casas, Trevor Story and Duran.