Under the Radar Yankees Prospects: Outfielder Timmy Robinson

Yanks Go Yard is combing through the New York Yankees minor league system in search of hidden gems in this ongoing series. Today, we look at 22-year-old outfielder Timmy Robinson.

The New York Yankees selected outfielder Timmy Robinson with their 21st round pick in this year’s June amateur draft after a strong senior year at USC. The 22-year-old hit .282/.368/.486 with eight home runs and nine steals in 254 plate appearances for the Trojans.

The chances of getting much of anything from your 21st round pick are slim, but the Yankees have to be pleasantly surprised by what they’ve seen thus far from Robinson. After signing, he joined the majority of the team’s 2016 draft class in short season Staten Island and was one of the league’s most productive power hitters.

Robinson hit .265/.347/.483 in 267 plate appearances in the New York-Penn League during his first taste of professional ball. He finished fourth in the league with eight home runs, first in RBI with 52 second in total bases with 111, and 11th with a .483 slugging percentage.

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The young outfielder is no one-dimensional slugger either. Robinson stole nine bags while mostly hitting out of the cleanup spot. He played all three outfield positions for the Baby Bombers, but probably is best suited for a corner long term. He does have the arm strength to capably handle right.

While he is far from a sure thing, Robinson’s power-speed combination and early professional success have elevated him to fringe prospect status, which is about the best you can expect from such a late round pick.

There are definitely some holes in his game that could become more pronounced as he advances. He only walked 9% of the time this year with the Baby Bombers, which is fine, but slightly below average for the league. He also struck out in 21.9% of his plate appearances, which is a little higher than you’d like to see.

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The best case scenario for Robinson is probably a toolsy fourth outfielder who can fake it in all three outfield spots, has a little pop, and can be an OK pinch runner.