Age: 20
Born: April 20, 1991
Lake Charles, LA
Height: 6-3
Weight: 215
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Drafted: 4th round, 2010
How Acquired: Draft
High School: Barbe High School (LA)
ETA: 2015
From Sox Prospects:
Scouting Report: Tall and athletic frame, above-average all-around tools. Good-looking swing from the left side. Excellent bat speed and hip rotation in swing mechanics. Upward swing path through hitting zone and creates solid extension. Plus power potential. Solid-average speed, but not likely to be a factor as he continues to physically develop. Played shortstop and second base in high school, but has begun to transition to third base as a professional. Light on his feet, soft hands, a plus arm. High baseball IQ. Fell to Boston in the 4th round, but had been projected as a first-round pick prior to 2010 before missing most of the 2010 season with an ACL injury.
Cecchini put up a .298/.398/.500 line in his first 114 pro at-bats. He was named player of the week on July 24th. Alas, he then got hit on the wrist by a pitch and was pronounced out for the rest of the season with a broken wrist. He should be back in time to play Fall League ball though.
Comments from Hazen from the linked article:
“This guy’s a really impressive bat,” said Sox farm director Mike Hazen. “Left-handed, he’s got a nice inside-out swing, an ability to cover the middle to the outer half of the plate well, and with power. He had the ability to not just hit the ball the other way, but to hit it over the outfielders’ heads the other way, which at that age is a huge separator.”
Yet the Sox were unsurprised by Cecchini’s ability in the batter’s box, since he showed an approach similar to what they’d seen when scouting him in high school. The unexpected element of the 20-year-old’s game was his speed. He swiped a dozen bases (in 14 attempts) for Lowell after having stolen a comparable number in extended spring training. Given that he suffered a torn ACL as a senior in high school that required surgery and prevented him from playing for much of last year, his running ability exceeded the Sox’ expectations.
Once Cecchini was able to recover fully from his surgery and begin working out in earnest, Hazen said that he became stronger, leaner and more athletic, putting him in a position to run the bases as well as he did.
“I think it was a bit of the unknown because we hadn’t seen him run in so long,” said Hazen. “He did a lot of work on his body, to the point where he was stealing all those bases. That was probably one of the more impressive things we saw, just the overall athleticism. Overall, we’re very happy with his season. It’s just unfortunate that it’s ending early.”
Stats here:
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=3B&sid=t558&t=p_pbp&pid=594555
Cecchini donated $20,000 of his signing bonus to the Jimmy Fund. Sounds like a great kid, hopefully he'll bounce back strong from his broken wrist.
Born: April 20, 1991
Lake Charles, LA
Height: 6-3
Weight: 215
Bats: Left
Throws: Right
Drafted: 4th round, 2010
How Acquired: Draft
High School: Barbe High School (LA)
ETA: 2015
From Sox Prospects:
Scouting Report: Tall and athletic frame, above-average all-around tools. Good-looking swing from the left side. Excellent bat speed and hip rotation in swing mechanics. Upward swing path through hitting zone and creates solid extension. Plus power potential. Solid-average speed, but not likely to be a factor as he continues to physically develop. Played shortstop and second base in high school, but has begun to transition to third base as a professional. Light on his feet, soft hands, a plus arm. High baseball IQ. Fell to Boston in the 4th round, but had been projected as a first-round pick prior to 2010 before missing most of the 2010 season with an ACL injury.
Cecchini put up a .298/.398/.500 line in his first 114 pro at-bats. He was named player of the week on July 24th. Alas, he then got hit on the wrist by a pitch and was pronounced out for the rest of the season with a broken wrist. He should be back in time to play Fall League ball though.
Comments from Hazen from the linked article:
“This guy’s a really impressive bat,” said Sox farm director Mike Hazen. “Left-handed, he’s got a nice inside-out swing, an ability to cover the middle to the outer half of the plate well, and with power. He had the ability to not just hit the ball the other way, but to hit it over the outfielders’ heads the other way, which at that age is a huge separator.”
Yet the Sox were unsurprised by Cecchini’s ability in the batter’s box, since he showed an approach similar to what they’d seen when scouting him in high school. The unexpected element of the 20-year-old’s game was his speed. He swiped a dozen bases (in 14 attempts) for Lowell after having stolen a comparable number in extended spring training. Given that he suffered a torn ACL as a senior in high school that required surgery and prevented him from playing for much of last year, his running ability exceeded the Sox’ expectations.
Once Cecchini was able to recover fully from his surgery and begin working out in earnest, Hazen said that he became stronger, leaner and more athletic, putting him in a position to run the bases as well as he did.
“I think it was a bit of the unknown because we hadn’t seen him run in so long,” said Hazen. “He did a lot of work on his body, to the point where he was stealing all those bases. That was probably one of the more impressive things we saw, just the overall athleticism. Overall, we’re very happy with his season. It’s just unfortunate that it’s ending early.”
Stats here:
http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?pos=3B&sid=t558&t=p_pbp&pid=594555
Cecchini donated $20,000 of his signing bonus to the Jimmy Fund. Sounds like a great kid, hopefully he'll bounce back strong from his broken wrist.