It’s only been five years, but it seems like forever ago that the Rays made Tim Beckham the No. 1 overall pick in the MLB draft. The 23-year-old is now in his third year at the Triple-A level and has yet to sniff the major leagues.
Beckham showed off the athleticism that once made him the No. 1 pick on Friday night, when he juked Scranton-Wilkes Barre’s catcher, Jeff Farnham, to evade a tag and score at home plate. As the announcers note, it was a pretty impressive throw from RailRiders outfielder Melky Mesa, but it was an even more impressive play from Beckham, who showed that if he doesn’t have a future in baseball, he could probably make a pretty decent NFL slot receiver.
Beckham’s batting .288 on the season with a .757 OPS. He has one home run, 24 RBIs and five stolen bases in 45 games for the Durham Bulls. In six seasons in the minors, Beckham has a .266 average and .713 OPS. He has 31 minor league home runs, 256 RBIs and 69 steals. Beckham has split time between shortstop and second base this year.
Check out his impressive agility in the video below. And take a look at the batter in the on-deck circle, too.
