Recapping the Mets prospects first week at the Arizona Fall League
By Tim Reilly | Oct 17, 2016 | 7:47AM
The Mets have four prospects playing in the Arizona Fall league: SS Gavin Cecchini, RHP Marcos Molina, OF Champ Stuart and OF Tim Tebow.
Here is how each of them fared during the first week of AFL games...
Gavin Cecchini, 22, SS
Cecchini hit .333 with three RBI and a .462 OBP.
In 117 games with Triple-A Las Vegas this past season, Cecchini, 22, hit .325 with a .390 OBP, with 8 HR, 27 doubles and 55 RBI, while striking out just 55 times in 446 at bats.
He had two hits in just six at-bats during his time with the Mets in September.
In July, Cecchini was ranked the organization's third-best prospect by MLB.com >> Read more on Cecchini
Marcos Molina, 21, RHP
Molina made one appearance, allowing one run and four hits, while striking out two batters, during two innings of work.
In late 2015, Molina, 21, had Tommy John surgery, at which time MLB.com considered him to be the organization's top pitching prospect. However, he dropped to fourth on their list this past summer after having not pitched in a minor league game for more than a year.
In 2014, Molina was 7-2 with a 1.77 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 91 strikeouts and just 18 walks in 12 starts and 76 innings for the Low-A Brooklyn Cyclones.
"There were high hopes for Molina in 2015," MLB.com wrote in their most recent scouting report. "When healthy, Molina throws his fastball up to 94 mph with really good life. He'll combine that with a solid breaking ball and an average changeup to give him three average to above-average offerings, along with the ability to command all of them." >> Read more on Molina
Champ Stuart, 24, OF
Stuart had three hits, including a home run, and recorded two stolen bases in two games played.
The 24-year-old Stuart hit .240 with a .314 OBP, eight home runs and 40 stolen bases between High-A St. Lucie and Double-A Binghamton this past season.
"He rates at the top of the scouting scale [as a] runner," MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo recently wrote of Stuart, who was born in the Bahamas. "A former multi-sport standout, the other part of his game are a bit raw, but he's not without tools. He's willing to work counts and draw walks, knowing his job is to get on base. He has some strength, unlike some pure speed guys, giving hope that there's some hitting ability to be unlocked." >> Read more on Stuart
Tim Tebow, 29, OF
In nine at-bats, Tebow was hitless with three strikeouts as he attempts to jumpstart a career in baseball.
Despite the results, he feels that he is making progress.
"This is a process. ... I'm getting adjusted. I need to get back into the rhythm," said Tebow, who signed with the Mets for $100,000 in September after having not played baseball since high school in 2005. "I was a little late on a couple of fastballs I could have done something with."
However, ESPN's Keith Law disagrees.
"Tebow the baseball player is not a baseball player," Law wrote, after watching Tebow in Arizona. "He's a washed-up quarterback who has size and nothing else. His swing is long, and he wields the bat like someone who hasn't played the sport in more than a decade, which he hasn't. ... Everyone involved in the decision should be embarrassed when they're done counting their money." >> Read more on Tebow
