8
2012
Press Release: Mets Agree To Terms With First Round Pick Gavin Cecchini
An article by 
METS AGREE TO TERMS WITH FIRST-ROUND PICK GAVIN CECCHINI
FLUSHING, N.Y., June 8, 2012 – The New York Mets today announced they have agreed to terms with shortstop Gavin Cecchini, the team’s first-round selection (12th overall pick) of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft. Cecchini will report to Port St. Lucie, FL, for mini-camp starting Monday, June 11 and then join Kingsport (R) of the Appalachian League when the club opens its schedule on Tuesday, June 19.
Cecchini, 18, who bats and throws righthanded, hit .413 with seven home runs, 32 RBI and 31 stolen bases to help Barbe to the Class 5A state title this season. Cecchini played for his father, Glenn, at Barbe. The 6-0, 175-pound native of Lake Charles, LA, was named Mr. Baseball in Louisiana by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.
Cecchini led the USA Baseball 18U National Team to the gold medal at the Pan American Championship in Colombia last fall. He hit .500 with 17 RBI in 15 games during the tournament.
As a junior, Cecchini was named Gatorade State Player of the Year and also won the Most Valuable Player award for the American squad at the 2011 Under Armour All-American Game last summer. Brandon Nimmo, the Mets’ first-round pick last season, was the MVP for the American team at the 2010 game.
Cecchini played in the 2006 Little League World Series, starting the game on the mound for South Lake Charles in their only win of the tournament.
Cecchini, who committed to the University of Mississippi, is the fourth position player taken in the first round by the Mets since 2008. He joins first baseman Ike Davis (2008), infielder Reese Havens (2008) and Nimmo (2011).
Cecchini’s brother, Garin, was selected in the fourth round of the 2010 draft by Boston and is currently playing for Greenville (A) of the South Atlantic League.
Barbe had two other players drafted along with Garin in 2010 (Hommy Rosado, Colorado, 11th round; Kevin Berard, 22nd round, Milwaukee). Gavin is the high school’s first first-round pick since 1996, when Toronto took infielder Joe Lawrence 16th overall.
* * * * * * * *
Quinn Roberts of MLB.com says Cecchini has signed for $2.3 million, which is below the $2.55 million slot value. Yesterday I mentioned that would most likely be the case for Cecchini and all the other picks they sign. Cecchini will report to Kingsport next week when players begin to arrive at the Mets Rookie Complex.
Original Post 7/7/2012
According to Adam Rubin, a source familiar with the negotiations told ESPN that Gavin Cecchini, the Louisiana high school shortstop selected by the Mets in the first round, has agreed to terms with the organization, . The deal is pending a physical.
Cecchini tweeted he was headed to New York, Rubin added.
It’s amazing how different the Mets draft strategy was this year as compared to last year.
Expect just about all of the Mets draft picks to sign quickly because for the most part that played a big part in the selection process in 2012 more so than whether they were the best available talents at the time.
You wont see any prolonged negotiations as we’ve seen in the past with Brandon Nimmo, Michael Fulmer and Matt Harvey. Don’t expect any record breaking signing bonuses either. In fact I’d be shocked if any of these players sign for over pre-established guidelines. Plus the negotiating period was shortened considerably with the new CBA so you have that in play here too.
Anyway, I bet Courtney Hawkins and Lucas Gioloto will sign for more than Cecchini did. They were drafted after Cecchini and the Mets passed on them even though they are both considered high-impact talents with big ceilings. That was last year’s philosophy.
Anybody want to place a small wager?
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
I'm a lifelong Mets fan who loves writing and talking about the Amazins' 24/7. From the Miracle in 1969 to the magic of 1986, and even the near misses in '73 and '00, I've experienced it all - the highs and the lows. I started Mets Merized Online in 2005 to feed my addiction. Follow me on Twitter @metsmerized.
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How fast can he get on a plane to Flushing? Lol
If Quintanilla goes down, there aren’t a whole lot of options left!
good one Clayton, I’m with you on that one! Lets get him to Flushing!
Apparently, HE had hamstring problems his senior year. Are the mets cursed?
I said it a thousand times in the shout box since they picked him including today!! Only reason they took him was because he’d be a fast and cheap signing. The best players require large bonuses and as I said during the game, these are the Moneyball Mets and there will not be anymore Bonus Babies selected in the draft or big name free agents signing deals to play for the low-market mentality Mets. It sucks when you get to pick ahead of the Nationals, Phillies, Braves and they selected the better players! Winning and building a championship was the last thing on the Mets mind when they made their selections. And one more thing, the reason they took like 20 high school pitchers were because the most they could get paid was $100K under the new CBA. Well guess what? Most of them are going to tell the Mets to go eff themselves and go to college. And the Mets know that and couldn’t care less because to them if they all say no, they save $2 million dollars.
I forgot to add that you can send your thank you letters for this to Paul DePodesta the world famous, well traveled, Google sensation who now runs these draft for the Mets. We are lucky to have such a legendary draft guru with so many accolades and success stories under his belt, now applying his great talents for the New York Mets. I feel as though we are blessed to have such an iconic talent evaluator on our side.
LMAO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m really disappointed that we passed on Giolito and Hawkins myself. There were 4 players I was hoping would be there at 12 and only 2 of them were but we didn’t take either one of them. Dahl, Almora, Hawkins and Giolito. We had a shot at the last 2 and passed. This Cecchini better be the real deal cause I’d bet the ranch Courtney Hawkins will be a 30-35 HR hitter for the Whitesox and Golito teaming with Strasburg in a few year will be a nightmare for NL East teams.
All due respect, You couldn’t be more wrong! Last year they went WAY over slot for several picks, and the Madoff bs wasn’t even resolved yet. You are correct in that we will not be seeing any record signing bonuses or protracted holdouts but that has NOTHING to do with the Mets being a “Moneyball” team as you put it. It’s because of the new CBA. The signing period has been shortened by over a month and there is an overall pool of money that teams can use to sign their picks. The smart thing that was done is that if a team can’t come to tearm with a pick that money is lost, so they can’t draft players they had no intention of signing in order to sweeten the pot for a player with signability issues. Strips the power from the agents and make these KIDS earn their money.
If you aren’t able to sign the player you drafted in the first round, do you get some sort of compensation pick the following year? Or an extra pick in the first round?
I’m not exactly sure how this works.
Was wondering why the Pirates with their pick took a kid apparently some teams passed on b/c of a sign-ability issue. I’m reading he more than likely will not sign with Pittsburg.
If you fail to sign your 1st rounder you don’t get a 1st rounder the next year.
This team would have probably taken the same kid even if they had the first pick…its so ironic. While id never trade this front office for the one Minaya had, I would love it if Omar was making our picks. Is it too early to complain or say this draft was bogus? Definitely. But if that fourth round pick didn’t tell you something, then you’re blind as a bat. Sorry Joe, but they’ll never draft any future David Wrights with this strategy.
“It’s amazing how different the Mets draft strategy was this year as compared to last year.”
It’s because the Mets have a different scouting director then last year.
Good point.
So basically, we are not spending on free agents, and when we do we overpay for bums, then we sign low risk/low rewards draft picks just because they’re safer and cheaper, yet if someone says “small market sandy” we somehow are hating for the sake of hating. yeah, keep proving us right sandy alderson, soon EVERYONE will see the light…
So let me get this straight….there has been multiple 1st round picks before Cecchini that already signed, but this one is only fast & cheap? My God, you people seem to bitch about any and everything! Why do I have the feeling that even if this kid turns out to be a success, he’ll never get the appreciation he deserves? Here’s a thought….how about we leave our criticisms at the door, judging him as “low risk, low reward”, and see what he can do on the field? Crazy, right?
Who says they have higher ceilings ,,YOU ,what makes you an expert, did you see how quick the Astro’s signed there pick, I guess that’s why they took him
I think most experts agree that Hawkins and Gioloto have higher upsides.
Vinny B,it’s funny,they throw the “expert at us” when talking about prospects etc, yet, when we use the same method to criticize a pick from depodesta then they do not wanna hear it…
Hypocresy and double standard
The word is “hypocrisy”. You should be used to that word.
Seriously Alex you’re like a broken record. It’s to the point of ridiculous already. If they had a hold out with picks you say it’s because Sandy is cheap and playing “Moneyball” (something that ALL of baseball is employing to some degree, even the Skankees). They sign the guy quickly now it was a conspiracy pick.
The thing that gets me most is you have the typical critic mentality. Someone else is working hard developing a system or an idea without any guarantees. You sit on the sideline heckling and being a typical naysayer doing nothing but criticizing. Most other poster (those who are for or against Sandy)come here and post opinions with objections and actually add a concept or idea to go with their objection (or approval) of whatever the issue is. You, you just critique to the negative. No matter what! Hey Sandy just signed our first pick! “The only reason they picked him was because he would come cheap!” (a typical Alex response). Hey Wright is on fire I can’t believe he’s still hitting over 400! “We should trade him he’ll never be this good again and besides Sandy isn’t going to resign him any way (IN TWO YEARS) (again typical Alex response.) I would love to see some old post on what you thought about the Beltran trade. I’ll bet you commented on how he got fleeced or that there must be something wrong with Wheeler. I’m sure you were against the TC hiring.
Seriously, I would love some objectivity instead of always finding a negative that may or may not exist. The team is playing well. Battling for first place actually. I’m fairly certain that the front office had something to do with that.
Well so far in it’s early showing it looks like the days of $7.5M signing bonuses for the #5 pick like Bubba Starling got last year with the Royals are over. Heck Correa signed for $4.8M. Last years #1 pick signed for $8M. I’ll be curious to see if any team goes at least 5% over their allotted bonus expenditures and forfeits their #1 pick next year.
Well, last year’s collective ceiling was higher as well.
Do you by chance happen to recall what it was compared to 2012?
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We needed Omar to head up this draft, he knows what to look for
You know I keep reading “experts” who write that Cecchini will def. be a upper echelon major league shortstop. I haven’t found one “expert” article stating otherwise, so I’m not sure what to think.
I keep reading how it was a reach for our first pick and how all the experts picked Hawkins. Thing is in the BA top 500 I could have sworn they were side by side with Hawkins at like 15 and Cecch at 16. When it’s that close is one a screw up over the other in the draft? We won’t know that for years.
Part of the evidence of Courtney Hawkins athleticism and high ceiling is the backflip he did in the studio.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnibzRW0Cjc&feature=player_embedded
If this is evidence, I’d like MLB to sign up the half dozen junior high school GIRLS who have regularly done these same backflips on grass in my backyard. Every one of these kids did them easily. Such is the hype that accompanies the draft.
This is an interestIng debate and I think since we’re all Invested,
It’ll be fun a watch it all play out. I don’t think the Mets are doing
this on the cheap. With payroll down, theyve decided to invest
in their farm system and I think that’s pretty exciting. Nothing
saves an organization money like player development, especially
pitchers.