The 2018 Eastern League All-Star Game will feature some of the most talented prospects in all of baseball.
Career .231 hitter Tim Tebow named to AA Eastern League all-star team
And now All-Star Game ticket prices are up 575%.
Daily Record-USA TODAY NETWORK
And also Tim Tebow.
The Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback will join a lineup that includes elite prospects like Vlad Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, and Brendan Rodgers for the AA league’s annual star-studded exhibition. And while there’s no questioning Tebow’s star power, his performance on the diamond has been, uh, less than sll-star material.
Here’s Tebow’s 2018 line:
Tim Tebow’s AA stats
Player | BA | OBP | HR | RBI | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Tebow | 0.261 | 0.335 | 5 | 30 | 0 |
And here’s how some of his all-star peers stack up.
The AA stats of other, better All-Stars
Player | BA | OBP | HR | RBI | SB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vlad Guerrero Jr. | 0.407 | 0.457 | 11 | 55 | 3 |
| Bo Bichette | 0.28 | 0.344 | 7 | 42 | 24 |
| Brendan Rodgers | 0.277 | 0.333 | 14 | 51 | 9 |
| Ryan Mountcastle | 0.306 | 0.361 | 7 | 30 | 0 |
| Cavan Biggio | 0.278 | 0.397 | 16 | 61 | 9 |
To his credit, Tebow has shown marked improvement since beginning his baseball experiment back in 2017. The 30-year-old left fielder for the Binghamton Rumble Ponies is having the best year of his career, setting personal bests in batting average and slugging percentage while playing at a higher level than the two single-A stops he’d frequented last summer. Hell, his offensive numbers aren’t that much worse than fellow all-star Ke’Bryan Hayes, who is batting .276 with four home runs and 19 RBI this season.
Granted, Hayes is nine years younger, a top prospect, and plays superior defense at a much more difficult position. Still: Tebow’s 2018 has been nearly as good as a 21-year-old, defense-first, light-hitting infielder!
But let’s call a spade a spade here. Tebow’s in this game because of his name value, not his increasingly stable play as a Mets farmhand. And that’s totally cool. The Eastern League is going to sell a bunch of tickets and jerseys with his name on the back, and it makes sense. This is the all-star game. If nothing else, Tebow’s still a star.
UPDATE: Yep, Tebow’s inclusion is doing wonders for the All-Star Game’s publicity. Vivid Seats reports ticket prices have risen 575% since the former Heisman winner was named to the team. Granted, that’s also a result of the entirety of the rosters being revealed on the same day — plenty of folks want to see Bichette and Rodgers, too — but it’s a safe bet the Tebow factor is playing a major role here.
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