(MiLB.com)
Next up on our list is a valuable piece to the Mets’ future. Whether he sticks as our shortstop of the future is TBD, but he is definitely next in line to be that breakout bat for the Mets with Conforto graduating his prospect status. He had a breakout campaign in 2015, which was a nice thing to see for him, the Mets front office, and Mets fans. He’s still fairly young at 22, so he will mature and become a solid hitter over time as well.
Ht: 6’2” Wt: 200 Level: Binghamton Mets B/T: R/R Age: 12/22/1993 (Age 22)
Statistics: 109 G, 439 AB, 64 R, 139 H, 26 2B, 4 3B, 7 HR, 51 RBI, 42 BB/ 55 SO, 3 SB, 4 CS, .317/.377/.442
Cecchini was the Mets first round pick out of Lake Charles High School in Louisiana in 2012. He was the Eastern League leader in average (.317), OBP (.377) and slugging (.442) in 2015, winning the Rookie of The Year award. Gavin was also named to both the mid-season and post-season Eastern League All-Star teams for his performance. According to Baseball America, Cecchini is a solid performer across the board who does not have a major weakness.
Photo by MiLB.com
He has a very nice inside-out swing. He can spray the ball all over the field and he wears out the gaps, so he won’t be needing a cringe-worthy shift against him, and he rarely strikes out, while getting on base at a respectable clip. He will never be a huge power hitter, but he will put up a lot of doubles in the future.
At short, Cecchini has good hands, an above-average arm and has mature instinct, but his errors there from 2014 and 2015 are alarming. He is getting better at the position, as he looked good so far this Spring Training before being sent down, but 27 and 28 errors in 2014 and 2015 are alarming numbers, especially at such an important infield position. This will he something to watch going forward.
Cecchini is a very solid all around player and scouts project him to be good enough to be a starting middle infielder once he reaches the big leagues. What his position will be in the future will be determined, whether 2nd, shortstop, or utility, but he has the range and arm to stick at short
for at least a decent amount of time. Gavin is slated to start the 2016 season at Triple-A Las Vegas, and could see some cups of coffee with the big league club, barring any injuries.
Prior Top 80 Prospects:
#5 Brandon Nimmo, #6 Wuilmer Becerra, #7 Desmond Lindsay,#8 Luis Carpio #9 Marcos Molina, #10 Robert Gsellman, #11 Logan Verrett, #12 Seth Lugo, #13 Jhoan Urena, #14 Gabriel Ynoa, #15 Ali Sanchez, #16 Luis Guillorme, #17 Chris Flexen, #18 Max Wotell, #19 Milton Ramos, #20 Akeel Morris, 25-21, 30-26 35-31, 40-36, 45-41, 50-46, 60-51, 70-61, 80-71
