Photo via twitter.com/ZacharyLucy
The Mets announced that four Mets prospects will join Team USA that is heading to Taipei to play in the WBSC Premier 12 Tournament that starts on November 10th against the Dominican Republic. The roster is headlined by shortstop prospect Gavin Cecchini who is listed as Mets #4 prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
Cecchini hit .317/.377/.442 this year for the Binghamton Mets while being named the Eastern League Rookie of the Year and playing in the All-Star game. He is currently playing in the Arizona Fall League for the Salt River Rafters and is off to a fast start going 5 for 13 with four walks and five runs scored in four games. Gavin has already seen success on the global level being a part of Team USA’s under-18 gold medal team at the 2011 Junior Pan Am Championships in Colombia.
He is joined on the roster by relievers John Church, Cody Satterwhite and catcher Dan Rohlfing who all played for the Las Vegas 51’s this season. Church had a 3.93 ERA and 1.197 WHIP along with seven saves in 71 innings out of the pen. Satterwhite is currently pitching in the Venezuelan Winter League after having a 4.38 ERA and 1.431 WHIP for the 51’s this year. The Mets traded for the defensive minded catcher Rohlfing this season and he hit .230/.280/.366 in 161 at bats for Las Vegas.
The U.S. team will play Canada three times in an exhibition warmup in Phoenix, Arizona starting on October 30th. The tournament field also includes Cuba, Italy, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Netherlands, Chinese Taipei, Japan, and Venezuela. The team will be coached by two former Mets staffers, Willie Randolph is the manager with Rick Peterson as the pitching coach.
Any player that is on a Major League teams 40-man roster is ineligible to play in this tournament. This is the first annual WBSC Premier as it is replacing the long running Baseball World Cup that ended in 2011.
For more Mets Minor League news and Winter League recaps head over to MetsMinors.net
