Darrell Ceciliani

Darrell Albert Ceciliani, Jr. (born June 22, 1990) is an American former professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays.

Early life Ceciliani was born in Tracy, California, though he moved to Madras, Oregon when he was young. Prior to playing professionally, he attended Madras High School and then Columbia Basin College. In his only year at Columbia Basin, he led the team in slugging percentage, doubles, triples, home runs, RBIs, walks and runs scored.

Professional career New York Mets Minor leagues Ceciliani was drafted by the New York Mets in the fourth round of the 2009 Major League Baseball draft.

In his first professional season, Ceciliani hit .234 with 2 home runs and 13 RBI in 42 games for the Rookie-level Kingsport Mets, and stole 14 bases in 16 tries. The next year, he hit .351 with a .410 on-base percentage, a .531 slugging percentage, 12 triples, 21 stolen bases and 56 runs scored in 68 games for the Short Season-A Brooklyn Cyclones. It was even thought that he could challenge Jack Maloof's league record .402 batting average, set in 1971. He was named a MiLB.com Organization All-Star and a Mid-Season All-Star that year, and Baseball America ranked him the 11th-best prospect in the New York-Penn League and the 14th best prospect in the Mets system.

Ceciliani hit .259 with 23 doubles and 25 stolen bases in 33 tries in 109 games for the Class-A Savannah Sand Gnats in 2011. In 2013, Ceciliani played 113 games for the Double-A Binghamton Mets, batting .268 with 6 home runs and 44 RBI. He made his debut the same day, appearing in the 7th inning as a pinch hitter getting his first major league hit, an infield single off St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Michael Wacha at Citi Field.

On June 1, Ceciliani notched his first RBI with a single scoring Michael Cuddyer off pitcher Andrew Cashner in the 5th inning in a 7–0 win against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. He hit his first Major League home run on June 14, off Mike Foltynewicz of the Atlanta Braves in a 10–8 comeback win. At this point since arriving to the Mets, Ceciliani had batted .290 with a .341 on-base percentage, one home run and three RBI, while playing left and center field. On July 6, Ceciliani was optioned to the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s, with Kirk Nieuwenhuis promoted to replace him. On September 8, Ceciliani was promoted to the major league roster and put on the 60-day disabled list to make room for Tim Stauffer on the 40-man roster. He appeared in 39 games for the Mets in 2015, batting .206 with 1 home run and 3 RBI.

Toronto Blue Jays On February 2, 2016, Ceciliani was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays for either a player to be named later, or cash considerations. He was optioned to the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons on March 30. He was recalled by the Blue Jays on June 17 when José Bautista went on the disabled list. On August 8, Ceciliani was recalled after Kevin Pillar was placed on the disabled list. He was optioned back to Buffalo on August 19, and recalled on September 2 after the Major League roster expansion. Ceciliani appeared in 13 games for the Blue Jays in 2016, hitting .111 with one RBI. On November 1, 2017, Ceciliani was outrighted to Triple-A Buffalo. He elected free agency on November 7.

New Britain Bees On April 3, 2018, Ceciliani signed with the New Britain Bees of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. In 21 games for the Bees, he hit .212/.268/.258 with no home runs and two RBI. Ceciliani became a free agent following the 2018 season.

Family Ceciliani's brother, Devin, was drafted in the 34th round of the 2013 Major League Baseball draft by the Tampa Bay Rays, but did not sign.