Any final sales pitch needed to convince Gavin Cecchini that he wanted to be a Met was taken care of on Friday night.
After working out at Citi Field earlier in the day, Cecchini, whom the Mets took with the 12th overall pick last night in this year’s First-Year Player Draft, stuck around to watch the Mets take on the Cardinals — and saw Johan Santana throw the first no-hitter in franchise history.
“It was unbelievable,” Cecchini said last night on a conference call. “You don’t get to see too many no-hitters, and I was there to witness it for the first time in Mets history. “The place was rocking, and it was really an awesome scene.”
Cecchini, a shortstop from Lake Charles, La., who played for his dad, Glenn, at Barbe High School, isn’t the only baseball player in his family. His brother, Garin, was a fourth-round pick by the Red Sox in 2010, and currently is playing for their Low-A affiliate.
“[He was] somebody that we had targeted all year,” said Tommy Tanuous, director of amateur scouting. “An offensive shortstop, but doesn’t give much away defensively. We feel like he’s going to bat in the top of the order.“He’s a tremendous makeup kid. … This is a kid who is a mix of tools, but also baseball instincts.”
The Mets took Purdue catcher Kevin Plawecki with the 35th overall pick, one of the two selections the team received as compensation for Jose Reyes signing with the Marlins during the offseason.
Including last year’s picks in the first and supplemental first rounds — center fielder Brandon Nimmo and pitcher Michael Fulmer — the Mets now have used three of their four first-round selections under general manager Sandy Alderson on middle-of-the-diamond positions.
“We do target those players regardless, and needless to say we were thrilled to come up with a shortstop in the first round and a catcher in the comp round,” said Paul DePodesta, vice president of player development and scouting.
Cecchini hit .413 with seven homers, 32 RBIs and 31 stolen bases to help Barbe win Lousiana’s 5A state championship. Plawecki hit .359 with seven homers and 47 RBIs for Purdue while finishing with 26 walks and eight strikeouts in 223 at-bats.
“We think [Plawecki is] a special receiver defensively, and obviously he has a terrific eye at the plate,” DePodesta said. “There’s no real secret about our offensive plan here. We have a system that we believe in. We believe in it at the major league level, all through the minor league level and into the scouting ranks, as well.
“We think that both Gavin and Kevin fit extremely well into our system and will flourish under our system and we’ll get the most out of them offensively. … We think these are guys who really control the strike zone and have a chance to do damage.”