Tim Battle Stats & Scouting Report

AB	2110
AVG	.242
OBP	.3
SLG	.383
HR	44

Full name Timothy D. Battle
Born 09/10/1985 in Riverdale, GA
Profile Ht.: 6'2" / Wt.: 185 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Mcintosh
Drafted in the 3rd round (94th overall) by the New York Yankees in 2003 (signed for $425,000).

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Battle is an ultimate high-risk, high-reward player. Some scouts think he's a better athlete than Florida high schooler Lastings Milledge, and that makes it unlikely Battle will make it to the second round. He has an electric body (6-foot-1, 185 pounds), plus-plus speed and power and has thrown 90 mph off the mound. The downside is that he has come out of nowhere and hasn't faced quality competition. He tends to lunge at pitches and might get eaten up when he sees good breaking balls for the first time. Battle is so raw that he might need two years in Rookie ball. He's unable to get into a four-year school, so signability won't be a factor.

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Battle was diagnosed with lymphoma soon after the Yankees drafted him, and he overcame cancer with surgery and chemotherapy treatments. He made his full-season debut in low Class A last year and led Charleston in extra-base hits, home runs and stolen bases. He also topped the minors in strikeouts--fellow Yankees farmhand Mitch Jones was second-- because of his poor pitch recognition. It's not one pitch that flummoxes Battle, who is a decent breaking-ball hitter and has the bat speed to turn on good fastballs. Though he takes his fair share of walks, he'll swing at just about anything. He's a guess hitter, and when he guesses breaking ball and sees one, he swings--whether or not it's hittable. If he tempers his aggressiveness, Battle's prodigious power could explode. He's an 80 runner on the 20-80 scouting scale who continues to improve on the nuances of basestealing. Defensively, Battle has exceptional range in center field and an average arm. Mental lapses keep him from being more than an average defender at present, however. His dedication to the game improved significantly in 2005, as he often was the first River Dog to take early work in the batting cage and shagged extra flies to improve his route-running. His ceiling is significant, and his development hinges on improving his pitch recognition and taming his strikeouts. He'll try to make more strides in that regard in high Class A this year.
A few weeks after the Yankees made him a third-round pick in 2003, Battle felt weak. Doctors diagnosed a form of bone cancer in Battle, and he had to go through multiple chemotherapy treatments. New York owner George Steinbrenner paid Battle's medical bills and brought him to the 2003 World Series as a guest of the team. When Battle returned in 2004, he showed the best five-tool ability in the system. His speed rates an 80 on the 20-80 scouting scale, and his light-tower power and arm are both well-above-average. He has had great difficulty in translating his physical gifts into production on the diamond, however. Battle struggles to recognize breaking balls and is a dead-pull hitter who is struggling to learn that he doesn't have to yank the ball to get it out of the park. Yankees hitting coaches have gone to extremes with him, ending batting-practice sessions whenever he pulls the ball. He's also raw on the basepaths and has done his best work on defense in center field. While he's still young and has plenty of time, the Yankees were displeased by Battle's constant tardiness and overall lack of professionalism last year. So hard as it may be to believe, the makeup of a player coming back from cancer was a problem. He showed better dedication during minicamp, but he still may not be ready for full-season ball.