Mets agree to terms with first-round pick Gavin Cecchini
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).