Reese Kaplan -- What's Gavin Cecchini's MLB Future?

When Sandy Alderson made Gavin Cecchini his 1^st round draft pick in 2012 there were some skeptics who were not enamored with the selection.  He’s not the type of player who has an outstanding skill that everyone covets.  He doesn’t hit the long ball like Giancarlo Stanton.  He doesn’t run the bases like Billy Hamilton.  He doesn’t field with the aplomb of Ozzie Smith.   Yet there was something there that made the Mets use their 12^th position in the draft to make him the top pick.

As he began his career in the Mets system, he moved up as you would expect from someone the club is emotionally invested in seeing succeed.  However, he didn’t reassure a great many doubters during his initial foray into the professional ranks.  Yes, he took quality at-bats and seemed to use the entire field but his pronounced leg kick seemed to hinder his ability to handle better pitching.  His age 18 initial trial across two leagues saw him finish with a .240/1/22 slash line.  Meh. 

He was promoted, of course, and his full season at age 19 in Brooklyn saw him up the batting average to .273 but his run production was even worse with no home runs and just 14 RBIs over the course of over 200 at-bats.

In 2014 he played across three levels, reaching as high as AA, and finally put together a full year’s worth of production.  The batting average was nothing impressive at .247 but he did manage to hit 8 home runs and drive in 56 – somewhat encouraging numbers from a player in a defensive position not always known for offensive prowess.  It was during this time they worked on altering his leg kick into more of a toe tap to help him have more time to get around on faster pitches.

In 2015 as whispers of “bust” regarding his draft status got louder he finally put it all together.  At AA Binghamton for the entire year he hit an impressive .317 while hitting 7 HRs and driving in 51.  He struck out a mere 55 times while walking 42.  He didn’t show much baserunning speed with just 3 SBs, but his OBP was a nice .377.

Everyone knows that Las Vegas is a hitter’s paradise and as expected Cecchini responded in kind with a terrific year at the plate.  He hit .325 with 8 HRs and 55 RBIs while still showing that good approach at the plate and excellent bat control.  Unfortunately his defense seemed to take a major step backwards and with uber-prospect Amed Rosario likely playing SS for the 51s, that will probably push Cecchini to the other side of the diamond at 2B.  His route to the majors may be easier there with Neil Walker playing on a one-year contract and a possible opening resulting in 2018. 

So what kind of player will he become?  There are not a lot of high average hitters who also don’t have another tool.  Some get by on speed, some have outstanding defense.  Others contribute power. 

The best I could parallel as an aspirational model for him was the mostly St. Louis Cardinal (and brief but forgotten NY Met), Tom Herr.  He was a man who once drove in 110 runs while hitting .302 but only driving 8 balls out of the park.  For his career he was a .271 hitter who often walked more than he struck out.  He only hit 28 long balls over a 13 year career, but he was a solid and dependable player who was a starter for 11 of them.  If Cecchini could replicate Herr’s career then people would likely salute Sandy Alderson for a good choice.