A .220 batting average in minor league baseball generally would not earn someone a promotion ― unless maybe that prospect is Tim Tebow.
The New York Mets announced Sunday that the 29-year-old former Heisman Trophy winner and NFL quarterback will be moving up a notch in their farm system despite his tepid performance, according to outlets.
Tebow will ascend from low Class A team Columbia to high A team Port St. Lucie on Tuesday, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said.
Tebow, signed by the Mets to a minor league contract in September after his football career stalled, had just three home runs and 23 RBIs while striking out 69 times in 214 at-bats with Columbia this season.
“His on-base [percentage], isolated power, swing, exit velocity, a lot of different things have been much better in the last 15 games,” Alderson said, per USA Today. “On the other hand, we recognize this is not the normal, usual circumstance, but we just felt that given everything involved, this was about the right time for him to move up to high A.’’
“It’s not like he’s tearing up the league,” Alderson added, per Newsday. “But at the same time, all of the indications are positive in terms of various things that we look at.”