New York Mets: We should believe in the struggling Tim Tebow

Should the New York Mets still believe in Tim Tebow? The lefty has struggled mightily at the Triple-A level of Minor-League Baseball.

Tim Tebow has been the center of many stories for the New York Mets over the past few seasons. The former college football standout has surprised many with his success as a professional baseball player. After a tough first stint in the Arizona Fall League, Tebow held his own through a half season with A and High-A, culminating in a successful (injury-shortened) season at AA.

Back in November, Brodie Van Wagenen told Jon Morosi of MLB Network that he had not ruled Tebow out from possibly being on the Opening Day roster…

Flashing forward, those days seem far gone… Tim Tebow’s struggles at AAA Syracuse have been well documented and things have not been getting better. On Tuesday, Tebow arguably reached a new low as he struck out looking versus a position player…

To me, that pitch seems to be a bit outside, but in the end, a strikeout is a strikeout. Personally, I feel like we should cut Tebow a little slack as the position player, Jordan Patterson, was reportedly throwing close to 90 MPH.  Position player or pitcher, 90 MPH will get professional baseball players to strike out some of the time…

Tebow’s early struggles and Tuesday’s strikeout do not show that he will never reach Major League Baseball.

Even Pablo Sandoval has shown that position players can get Major League hitters out!

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Tebow will always receive criticism because of who he is. Looking back, it was ridiculous to think that Tim Tebow could have a career in Major League Baseball, he hadn’t played baseball at all in the 12 years prior to signing with the New York Mets.

Yes, he is struggling, but he is struggling at the Triple-A level. This is the first time that Tebow has embarrassed himself and I think that it is a win considering that it is coming at the highest level of Minor-League Baseball.

It is not uncommon for prospects to struggle on their way up through the Minor-Leagues, especially when they are promoted as fast as Tebow has been. His struggles don’t prove that he can’t play Major League Baseball, they show that he needs to adjust and get better. I am looking forward to seeing if he can adjust. Due to his prior successes, I think that we should be optimistic in Tebow’s abilities to learn, grow and improve.

Will this happen? A few years ago, I would have said NO, but now, I believe that Tim Tebow has given us reason to believe that he will one day be a Major League Baseball player. Will it happen in 2019? Probably not, but we could see Tim Tebow at Citi Field early in 2020.