When the New York Mets committed six figures to take a shot on outfielder Tim Tebow, they did so knowing he had significant physical skills, including great athleticism, strength, flexibility and some above-average tools, specifically raw power and running speed (he ran a 6.6 60-yard dash). They also know that if he's to reach the big leagues, he'll need to improve. On defense, he needs to master his footwork, reads and first step in the outfield, as well his baseball throwing mechanics. But more importantly, he'll need to prove he can hit major league-caliber pitching.

If he was 18-21 years old, the decision to sign him would have been a no-brainer. But he's 29, and having not played baseball for more than a decade means the odds are severely stacked against him.

His best trait is his makeup, which can be fairly graded on a 20-80 scouting scale at 80. He's a leader and has a great work ethic, high energy and passion and intelligence. And it's really those qualities that give the Mets the belief he might actually pull off a miracle and make it to the big leagues in the next three years if he can stay committed full time to it.

First we'll look at potential problems he could encounter as he goes through the daily grind that is pro baseball, then we'll lay out the best-case, worst-case and most likely scenarios, as well as an outside-the-box scenario.