29
2012
Mets Top Pick Gavin Cecchini Promoted To Brooklyn
An article by 
The Brooklyn Cyclones have announced that Mets 2012 first round pick, Gavin Cecchini, has been promoted from the Kingsport Mets to the Cyclones.
Cecchini, 18, will join the team later today when the Cyclones play the first place Renegades in Hudson Valley.
MMO is en route and will get to speak to Gavin today as well as a few of his other teammates and we will post something on him later this afternoon or early evening.
In 53 games with Kingsport in the Appalachian League, Cecchini batted .246 with a .311 on-base percentage, nine doubles, two triples, one home run and 22 RBI in 191 at-bats.
He has posted a .641 OPS while settling in as a pro and has stolen five bases while getting caught four times.
Don’t let those numbers discourage you, the Mets treat Kingsport like a developmental league ever since they got rid of their GCL affiliate last Winter. Most of the players in Kingsport are trying out new wind-ups and release points, or adjusting their batting stances and swings, and learning the game from the ground up… Things they used to do in the GCL.
I spoke with outfielder and teammate Bradley Marquez a couple of weeks ago before he left Kingsport for Texas to play football, and he told me the most impressive player on the team is Gavin Cecchini.
“He has a seriousness and a commitment to improving every aspect of his game. Cecchini is the first one at practice and always the last player to leave the field”, Marquez said. “He’s my roommate and I’ve been fascinated by how driven and how goal oriented he is. He’s the real deal.”
Marquez also told me a funny story about how Gavin has gotten his team hooked on his mother’s homemade gumbo, a dish that is very popualr in his hometown in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
“I’m really digging that gumbo he’s turned us on to, that stuff is good.”
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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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 42 | 30 | .583 | - |
| Phillies | 35 | 37 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Nationals | 34 | 36 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Mets | 27 | 40 | .403 | 12.5 |
| Marlins | 22 | 48 | .314 | 19.0 |
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“In 53 games with Kingsport in the Appalachian League, Cecchini batted .246 with a .311 on-base percentage, nine doubles, two triples, one home run and 22 RBI in 191 at-bats.
He has posted a .641 OPS while settling in as a pro and has stolen five bases while getting caught four times.
Don’t let those numbers discourage you”
LMAO!! Joe, then what else are we supposed to be if not discourage??? First of all, we could’ve had hawkins, a guy with more upside and raw talent, yet somehow we pick this kid who according to scouts, has all the tools to be a backup IF and then we see his pathetic numbers and you tell us not to be discourage??
I think what Joe was trying to get accross is they are not focused on performance at all down there as it’s mostly mechanical work and if your mechanically sound they then ship you off to the next level where they take those mechanics and try to teach you how to use them, tweak them , improve them.
If you think of Kingsport as a sort of Pre-Test to determine what is sound and what needs work then you get the picture.
So it’s kind of like an entrance exam to figure out what your development program should be for that player.
Thanks Metsie, that is correct. Nobody cares about the performance of the Kingsport team. As soon as the decision was made to save a few million by cutting the GCL Mets, 16-18 year olds were pushed into Kingsport which used to be the first stop after the developmental league. Niw all of that has changed. You should see how Kingsport gets hammered every night because of it with scores like 14-2 and 12-0 almost a daily occurrence.
“Nobody cares about the performance of the Kingsport team”
Well except maybe the poor folks in Kingsport who rely on them for thier baseball entertainment! LOL
Joe D — Hyperbole is a bit of an overkill to describe the Kingsport Mets pitching. It’s not as bad as you’ve said. In 65 games, Kingsport has allowed an average of 5.9 runs/game). In ten of the 65 games they allowed ten or more runs, but as the season progressed they got better. In August’s 29 games, only twice did their opponent score ten or more runs.
“who according to scouts, has all the tools to be a backup IF”
I’ve asked this now 3 times I think. Can somebody, anybody show me the scouts that said he’s a backup infielder? I never read it, but if it was said – i’d like to see the scouts that said it?
Or is this just say something and hope somebody believes it?
Which infielder is he replacing here?
Your choices are:
Wright
Tejada
Murphy
Davis
You MIGHT have a glimmer of hope on Murphy if he gets hurt. And Wright only if they refuse to resign him and move Murphy there!
Who are you taking about Cecchini? He’s years and years away. No telling right now who he can replace, he first needs to stop striking out at such a high rate and make some more contact. And then do those things at a higher level.
Granted he is years away….
As a hypothetical…
If all those guys maintain thier perormance (and in Ike’s case what he’s doing now not what he has done the entire season)
What does this guy have to do to break into the lineup and replace them?
Pretty high order of accomplishment if you ask me!
Sorry I don’t buy into that at all. You’re talking about a kid who is going to Brooklyn right now.
Lets just say 4 years. You’re honestly going to tell me you think a 31 year old Daniel Murphy will stop Cecchini from being a starting infielder?
The way you speak you make it sound like any infield prospect within the Mets might as well stop playing baseball.
Still – I’d like to see the scouting reports that say “he’s a future backup.”
Well first off you have to convert him to a 2B….
Second you have to hope some other kid doesn’t come along in those 4 years to take whatever role you think he is going to fill everyday.
He’s a SS not actually known much for his glove and is mostly about his bat!
Sound Familiar?
Murphy in 4 years could be #2 on the veteran leadership here. And lets face facts he is one of the few players who has not frustrated the fans for any extended period of time…Lots of people have a lack of faith in him but they can’t really say he has sucked for any extended period of time!
You have a better chance of knocking Davis in that regard than Murphy.
It’s 4 years away and he plays the position of a guy who is 21 or 22 and in 4 years will just be entering his prime. A guy who is already a pretty high average hitter!
Thats a tall order to usurp even in 4 years!
Should the IFs in our Farmn stop playing baseball? NO!
They should be traded for that Power Hitting RH bat we all agree is needed around here!
And then when we go drafting a SS he will actually be able to play SS instead of having to be converted to OF (Valde) 3B (Flores) 2B (Valde, Flores, Insert Name here!)
We have a glut of drafted Middle IF that are not even good enough to usurp Murphy today who is no great shakes at 2B!
So those are the guys we need to stop holding onto and trade away for the pieces we actually do need without the need to play them out of position because our farm are all square pegs trying to be fit into round holes!
I’m not sure I understand your point.
How do you know 4 years from now Tejada isn’t the trade bait? You’re saying they should trade their young infielders – well you can’t trade this kid for a full year anyway so why complain about it?
Why not just develop the most amount of talented players you can.
If he’s a talented enough player, he can play 2B if they needed him to.
Who cares if he’s a future SS and right now Tejada is the SS? Worry about the issue when it becomes an issue.
Gavin’s a very dynamic player,” said Ole Miss assistant coach and recruiting coordinator Carl Lafferty. He’s a guy that comes in and makes an immediate impact on a program. He influences the game on both sides of the ball with his bat offensively and certainly with his glove at the shortstop position.”
Also I decided to look around , it seems the consensus is his arm strength at SS needing work, not his glove or athleticism at the position. So I think we need to be careful because you make it sound like his nickname is “feet” out there (nice hands feet!)
And if they decide his value is only at SS then you now have a valuable trade chip. What is more valuable, a solid SS or a solid OF? You better believe it’s a SS.
How do you know Gavin isn’t a .220 hitter? I know pretty much the same way you do!
Point is you keep assuming a player is going to fail but it’s always the guy who has PROVEN to be MLB player never the guy who is just out of HS and has proved nothing yet!
Thats the problem you seem to have whenever kids are discussed!
All kids are SURE things All proven Vets are aging risks!
Bad way to evaluate talent despite your preference to replace anyone above age 26 with a rookie.
No team in history has ever made that work!
What are you talking about?
The point here is that his position doesn’t matter with regard to the current makeup of the NY Mets. He’s a kid and in 4 years who knows who will be our 2B or SS?
If they see him as a valuable player, then you draft him and hope you develop him properly. Worry about who is above him on the depth chart when he’s actually close to breaking camp.
4 years ago Alex Cora played SS for the Mets more than Reyes did. Things happen.
What the hell are you talking about? At this point your just attacking jessup.
Remember you said Position doesn’t matter the next time a guy we drafted who played 1B botches a play or fails to get to a ball in the OF….
Of Valdespin misplays a ball out there as well!
he’s a kid who in 4 years…”WHO KNOWS?”
Precisely Who Knows if he will even be any good!
Point is even if he is good he’s also going to need someone we currently have to NOT be good in order to use it!
Yeah spoken lie a true kid Whatever!
A sound work ethic is a great place to start!
Good Luck, Gavin!!!
Congratulations to Gavin Cecchini! Nice to see him coming along.
If you get to speak to him, ask Cecchini if he’s single! :-p
This is a mets blog, not some facebook meeting chat…
“I can’t see the mets and this pick working out. The kid is a good talent but i don’t see why they made this pick? First off, they let reyes go to give the SS position to tejada who’s only 22, why the need to draft a SS if even in 4 years tejada will be only 26? Unless they were looking for a back up IF i don’t understand this pick at all, maybe it has something to do with slot money due to their financial situation it’d be understandably but still don’t justify this pick”
Anonymous scout from a rival team.
Link?
And that is one scout
I am not mets blog to be posting links.. Believe it if you will, again, he has all the tools to be a backup IF another scout said
But if you found the quote, why don’t you show us where you got it?
Is it too much to ask that you support your claim?
I saw one scout say he could be a backup. I also saw a scout say he could be a Nomar type or a Zack Cozart type. You won’t get the quotes from the latter though.
Dang Alex, I am having a hard time finding this link. I have broken the quote up in parts and did multiple Google searches and still haven’t found a link.
“I can’t see the mets and this pick working out. The kid is a good talent but i don’t see why they made this pick? First off, they let reyes go to give the SS position to tejada who’s only 22, why the need to draft a SS if even in 4 years tejada will be only 26? Unless they were looking for a back up IF i don’t understand this pick at all, maybe it has something to do with slot money due to their financial situation it’d be understandably but still don’t justify this pick”
Anonymous scout from a rival team.
…That Alex made up because he wanted the Mets to pick someone else and he needed some form of validation for the bs he spews on here. Is anyone really shocked that he’s upset about something this FO did? I know Alex, slurp slurp. YAWN!!!
Also – I doubt a rival scout would say
“maybe it has something to do with slot money due to their financial situation it’d be understandably but still don’t justify this pick”
“it’d be understandably”????
I am sure there is some scout out there who dislikes the pick. I’m not gonna flip out about it. But I would love to see this quote somewhere.
I am quite certain I can find plenty who like the pick, especially since he was a top 20 draft prospect according to MLB.com
I will give him the benefit of the doubt that he just mis-typed it but I still haven’t found the quote.
But since we picked him he must suck! There beat you to it!
So Gavin get’s a look see at what Brooklyn is all about. Cool.
Congrats Gavin.
Pete just had a nice conversation with Gavin. He will not play tonight, but his finger feels just fine and he’s a bright kid and well grounded.
We are going to edit the audio and play it on our debut of Metsmerized Radio tomorrow. We also secured him, Brandon Nimmo and John Mincone for live appearances on upcoming shows where the callers can ask them questions. They were all nice enough to do promotional clips for Metsmerized who they all said they love and read daily!
It was funny hearing Pete say this. “Joe when I first started coming here and I’d say I was from Metsmerized they’d look at me cross-eyed. Now when they hear the name their eyes light up and they come running to greet me.”
Alex, Gavin sends you his regards. Have a Tootsie Roll pop, preferably cherry.
Sounds good Joe D, looking forward to it.