Dillon Tate Archives - Page 5 of 5

Tuesday Links: Chapman, Jansen, CBA, GMS Field, AzFL

November 1, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Pretty soon — as in 48 hours or less — the 2016 World Series will be over the offseason can officially begin. The free agent class is pretty weak, so I think we’re going to end up seeing a lot of trades this winter instead. That’s cool with me. Trades are much more fun. Anyway, I have some news and notes to pass along, so let’s get to them.

Yankees will target Chapman over Jansen

No surprise here: Jon Heyman says the Yankees are planning to target Aroldis Chapman in free agency before Kenley Jansen. Those two as well as Mark Melancon will hit the open market in the coming days now that the World Series is close to being complete. This upcoming free agent class kinda stinks, but there will be three high-end relievers available. Competition for them should be fierce.

A few weeks ago we heard the Yankees are planning to target a top reliever in free agency. I figured that would happen following the Chapman and Andrew Miller trades at midseason. The Yankees had the opportunity to flip those two for high-end prospects, then replenish the bullpen with free agents in the offseason. They did step one, now they have to do step two. Chapman won’t cost a draft pick plus the Yankees know him from his time in New York, so it’s no surprise he’s their Plan A. I prefer Jansen, but whatever.

MLB, MLBPA optimistic about finalizing new CBA

The current Collective Bargaining Agreement expires on December 1st, which isn’t all that far away now, and Joel Sherman hears MLB and the MLBPA have agreed to “very few key issues” so far. Both sides are optimistic about avoiding a work stoppage, however. “I’m optimistic as well. The good thing is everyone understands and appreciates the issues,” said union chief Tony Clark.

Apparently free agent draft pick compensation is a hot topic and many potential changes are being discussed, including eliminating the need to surrender a pick. The team that loses a qualified free agent would still receive a compensatory draft pick, but the signing team would get to keep their first rounder. Sherman also hears it’s possible the current rules could remain in effect this offseason before a new system kicks in next winter. As long as there’s no work stoppage, and I don’t think there will be, it’s cool with me.

Yankees renovating GMS Field

Yankee Stadium is not the only park getting a facelift this offseason. George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa is being renovated as well, the Yankees announced. The ballpark is getting $40M worth of upgrades that will bring new seating sections, a shaded cabana area, and a huge new gift shop. Construction started in August — High-A Tampa had to play all their postseason games on the road this year — and will be presumably completed in time for Spring Training.

“The renovations, which include an increased number of fan-friendly vantage points, social gathering spaces and shaded areas, will provide our guests with the modern amenities necessary for an exceptional game day experience. We are equally excited about furthering the Yankees’ commitment to the Tampa community and look forward to unveiling a beautiful facility for our fans to enjoy for years to come,” said Senior VP and CFO Tony Bruno in a statement. Neat. Here are renderings of the upgrades and construction photos, if you’re interested.

Torres, Tate selected for Fall Stars Game

Gleyber Torres and Dillon Tate were selected to participate in the Arizona Fall League’s Fall Star Game, the league announced. Here are East and West rosters. Torres is the best prospect in the game according to MLB.com’s top 100 list. He’s hitting .313/.421/.656 (187 wRC+) with three homers, six walks, and five strikeouts in nine AzFL games so far. Tate has a 3.86 ERA (5.24 FIP) in 9.1 relief innings with the Scottsdale Scorpions.

The Fall Stars Game is more of a prospect showcase than a true All-Star Game. They pick the biggest names each year regardless of their AzFL performance. Also, they don’t disrupt pitching schedules, which is why Tate and not James Kaprielian was selected to the roster. Kaprielian’s not scheduled to pitch the day of the game. The Fall Stars Game is this Saturday at 8pm ET. It’ll be broadcast on MLB Network and streamed live on MLB.com. It’s a good time.

Yankees land three on Baseball America’s top Single-A prospects lists

October 10, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Gleyber. (Tim Holle/Brevard County Manatees)

Baseball America’s annual look at the top 20 prospects in each minor league continued last week with the various Single-A leagues, including the Low-A South Atlantic League and High-A Florida State League (subs. req’d). Nationals OF Victor Robles was the top prospect in the Sally League while Mets SS Amed Rosario was the top prospect in the FSL. You can see all the top 20 lists right here, without a subscription.

The Yankees landed three prospects on the FSL list, starting with SS Gleyber Torres. He is the No. 2 prospect in the circuit behind Rosario. Gleyber came over from the Cubs in the Aroldis Chapman trade — Baseball America (subs. req’d) also ranked Torres as the No. 4 prospect in the High-A Carolina League, where he started the season before the trade — and is arguably not even the best prospect the Yankees acquired in the trade deadline.

“Torres isn’t as flashy but earned comparisons with the Cubs’ Javier Baez for his leg kick, aggression and power potential at the plate … He has a knack for the barrel but also has bat speed, with some loft in his swing and pull power” said the write-up. The scouting report also says Torres is considered “at least above-average if not plus” defensively at short. He has the bat to profile at third if a move is necessary down the line.

SS Jorge Mateo ranked fifth on the FSL list and the write-up says “maturity (was mentioned) frequently as a need for Mateo, not just with his makeup but with his fairly raw game.” His top of the line speed still is still there, but he needs to get stronger to better drive the ball. While Mateo’s defense at short is good, the scouting report says some believe he fits best in center field long-term. The Yankees have had him play some center in Instructional League recently.

The third Yankees farmhand on the FSL list is RHP Chance Adams, who broke out in a big way this season. He ranked 18th. “Adams repeats his delivery, uses his legs well and produces plus fastball velocity, usually sitting 93-95 mph and touching 97,” said the write-up. He also throws a slider, changeup, and curveball, with the latter lagging behind the other two. One evaluator said “Adams dominated the league when he was here. He just imposed himself on other teams.”

RHP James Kaprielian did not throw enough innings to quality for the FSL list, but, in the chat, John Manuel said he “definitely would have been the first pitcher ranked” had he stayed healthy. LHP Ian Clarkin wasn’t a serious consideration for the list because “he pitched with less stuff and fringe-average stuff.” OF Mark Payton also earned a mention in the chat, though he didn’t play enough to qualify for the list. “I can see him being a fifth outfielder type, an up and down guy … I suspect he’ll wear an MLB uniform at some point,” said Manuel.

The Yankees did not have any prospects on the South Atlantic League list, which isn’t too surprising. Low-A Charleston wasn’t a great prospect team in 2016. SS Kyle Holder and SS Hoy Jun Park were the team’s top prospects. J.J. Cooper said RHP Dillon Tate was “not all that close” to making it in the chat. “Tate’s stuff was a little better in August with Charleston, but right now he looks more like a potential reliever than the front-line starter that scouts hoped to see coming out of the draft,” said Cooper.

Baseball America ranked three Yankees among the top rookie ball prospects this year. The Double-A Eastern League and Triple-A International League top 20 lists will be the fun ones. The Yankees should be well-represented on both. Well, that assumes guys like C Gary Sanchez, OF Aaron Judge, RHP Chad Green, 1B Tyler Austin, and RHP Luis Cessa spent enough time with Triple-A Scranton to qualify for the IL list. We’ll see.

DotF: Bichette homers, helps Trenton advance to Eastern League Championship Series

September 10, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Some notes before we get to today’s postseason action:

RHP Dillon Tate and RHP J.P. Feyereisen have been added to the Scottsdale Scorpions roster, according to the Arizona Fall League transactions page. Tate needs all the work he can get right now, so it’s good to see he’s going. The Yankees have one open AzFL roster spot and the hope is it will go to RHP James Kaprielian, assuming his elbow heals up in time.
Speaking of Tate, Grace Raynor wrote about the right-hander and not just his tough 2016 season, but his rise from unknown high school hurler to fourth overall pick in the draft. “I’m like, ‘Are you sure (you want to trade me)? Because I’m gonna come back,'” he said when asked about the deal.
2B Nick Solak and OF Billy McKinney both made today’s Prospect Report. I’m curious to know if the Yankees changed anything mechanically with McKinney. He hit one homer in 88 games with the Cubs and has four in 38 games with the Yankees, including playoffs.

Triple-A Scranton swept their first round postseason series. They’ll play either Gwinnett or Columbus in the best-of-five International League Championship Series. That series doesn’t start until Tuesday, so they’ve got the next few days off.

Double-A Trenton (3-2 win over Reading) they won the best-of-five series in four games … they’ll play either Akron or Altoona in the best-of-five Eastern League Championship Series starting next week .. Akron is up two games to one in that series

SS Tyler Wade: 0-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K — went 2-for-15 (.133) in the four games
CF Dustin Fowler: 2-5, 1 R, 1 K — went 5-for-16 (.313) in the four games
3B Miguel Andujar: 2-5, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K — alternated no-hit games with two-hit games in the series
1B Dante Bichette Jr.: 1-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K — he went 5-for-13 (.385) and drove in five runs in the four games
RF Billy McKinney: 2-3, 1 BB — three straight two-hit games to close out the series
LHP Caleb Smith: 5 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 1/5 GB/FB, 1 E (throwing) — 65 of 95 pitches were strikes (68%) … only his eighth start of the season after spending most of it in the bullpen
RHP J.P. Feyereisen: 1.1 IP, zeroes, 2 K, 1/1 GB/FB — 12 of 17 pitches were strikes (71%) … allowed one hit and no walks in four innings in the series … he struck out six

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DotF: Solano and Higashioka have big games in AAA win

August 31, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Got some notes to pass long, as usual:

In case you missed it earlier, the Yankees are sending SS Gleyber Torres, SS Tyler Wade, 3B Miguel Andujar, 1B Greg Bird, and RHP Brody Koerner to the Arizona Fall League. They still have three pitching spots to fill. Farm system head Gary Denbo told Chad Jennings that Torres will play some second base and Wade will play some outfield in the desert. Intrigue!
Another in case you missed it earlier: OF Ben Gamel was traded for the Mariners for teenage pitching prospects RHP Juan DePaula and RHP Jio Orozco. Gamel was named MVP of the Triple-A International League just yesterday. It was only a matter of time until the Yankees traded one of their upper level lefty hitting outfielders.
Some injury updates from Randy Miller: RHP James Kaprielian (flexor) is still on his throwing program and will get back on a mound soon. The Yankees want to send him to the AzFL but won’t push it. Also, RHP Drew Finley is out with elbow fatigue, but tests showed no structural damage.
LHP Justus Sheffield and LHP James Reeves have been promoted from High-A Tampa to Double-A Trenton, report Matt Kardos and Nick Flammia. Nice little late season promotions for those two. LHP Nestor Cortes, meanwhile, was sent from Triple-A to High-A, the team announced. He threw 5.2 hitless innings in his spot start with the RailRiders.
RHP Dillon Tate has been hitting 96 mph out of the bullpen with Low-A Charleston, reports Brendan Kuty. Tate’s velocity had been fluctuating all year with the Rangers, and it looks like it’s starting to come back. The next step is seeing whether he can hold that velocity as a starter.

Triple-A Scranton (14-2 win over Buffalo)

CF Mason Williams: 2-6, 1 R, 4 RBI, 1 K — hitting .330/.333/.418 in his last 23 games … you’d like to see more walks, but the shoulder seems a-okay
LF Cesar Puello: 1-4, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP, 1 E (fielding) — that’s his 16th hit-by-pitch of the season and it’s not even close to a career high … he has seasons with 20, 21, and 22 hit-by-pitches, plus two others 16 … dude’s a pitch magnet
3B Rob Refsnyder: 1-6, 2 RBI, 3 K
1B Chris Parmelee: 1-6, 1 R, 1 K, 1 E (fielding)
DH Donovan Solano: 4-5, 5 R, 3 2B — hitting .317/.345/.434 on the season
C Kyle Higashioka: 3-4, 4 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB — that’s his 21st homer of the season … his previous career high was eight back in 2011
RF Jake Cave: 3-4, 2 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K
LHP Jordan Montgomery: 6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 6/4 GB/FB — 62 of 86 pitches were strikes (72%) … set a franchise record with a 29.2 innings scoreless streak
LHP Richard Bleier: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 4/1 GB/FB — 17 of 20 pitches were strikes (85%) … 20 pitches in three innings? huh … guessing this was a tune-up appearance ahead of a call-up Friday

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DotF: Frazier and Heller debut, Judge returns in AAA loss

August 2, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Here are all the damn notes:

J.J. Cooper at Baseball America updated their midseason top 100 prospects list. The rankings did not change. They just updated the list to reflect the trade deadline activity. The Yankees and Brewers lead the way with seven top 100 prospects each.
In a separate piece, Cooper ranked the top 50 prospects traded from June 30th to August 1st. The Yankees added the No. 2 (Clint Frazier) and No. 3 (Gleyber Torres) prospects. Three of the top seven, six of the top 25, and ten of the top 50 (!) all came to the Yankees in various trades.
Josh Norris spoke to RHP James Kaprielian, who is currently working his way back from a flexor strain. Kaprielian won’t pitch in games in the regular season, but it’s possible he will be ready to go in time for Instructional League and/or the Arizona Fall League.
RHP Domingo Acevedo was placed on the High-A Tampa DL with a back injury, reports Erik Boland. Sucks. At least it’s not his arm. Matt Kardos says Acevedo received a cortisone shot and will be shut down a few days. Double-A Trenton manager Bobby Mitchell told Kardos that Acevedo was due to join the Thunder soon.
The Yankees are sending minor league pitching coordinator Danny Borrell to Low-A Charleston specifically to work with RHP Dillon Tate, reports Brendan Kuty. Turns out farm system head Gary Denbo coached Tate with Team USA in 2014, so there is some familiarity there.
Tate and RHP Erik Swanson, who also came over in the Carlos Beltran trade, are scheduled to make their debuts with Low-A Charleston on Friday, the River Dogs announced. Tate and Swanson made their final starts with the Rangers last Thursday and Friday, respectively.

Also, it’s been a while since I last updated the standings, so let’s do that now. The eight domestic affiliates came into today with a combined 322-251 (.562) record, which is pretty awesome.

Triple-A Scranton (2-1 loss to Lehigh Valley) they’re 67-43 and one game back in the North Division … they have a five-game lead on a postseason spot

CF Jake Cave: 0-4, 1 K
LF Clint Frazier: 0-4, 3 K — first game since the trade … bust!
RF Aaron Judge: 1-3, 1 2B — got picked off second … played six innings as scheduled in his first game back from the knee injury
C Gary Sanchez: 0-3, 1 BB, 1 K
1B Tyler Austin: 0-3, 1 K
3B Cito Culver: 1-3 — this isn’t his Triple-A debut … he played eight games here last season
LHP Jordan Montgomery: 6.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 9/2 GB/FB — 65 of 102 pitches were strikes (64%) … nice Triple-A debut for the team’s 2014 fourth rounder
LHP Tyler Webb: 0.2 IP, zeroes, 2 K — nine pitches, six strikes
RHP Ben Heller: 0.2 IP, zeroes, 1 K, 1/0 GB/FB — six pitches, five strikes … first game since coming over in the Andrew Miller trade with Frazier

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DotF: Torrens, Gittens, Alvarez go deep in Charleston’s win

August 1, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

Got a whole bunch of notes to pass along:

OF Aaron Judge (knee) will be activated off the Triple-A DL tomorrow and will receive “strong consideration” for a call-up later this year, Brian Cashman told Chad Jennings. Judge has been out nearly four weeks, so he’s going to need some at-bats just to get himself back up to speed. I doubt a promotion is imminent.
1B Greg Bird (shoulder) has resumed throwing, according to Billy Witz. He won’t return during the regular season, but assuming his rehab goes well, Bird is a candidate to go to the Arizona Fall League in October.
RHP Dillon Tate, who came over in the Carlos Beltran trade, is going to work out of the Low-A Charleston bullpen, Cashman told Jennings. It’s not a permanent move. There are some things Tate needs to iron out and the Yankees feel the bullpen is the place to do it.
OF Mason Williams is out with a quad injury, Cashman told Jennings. He hurt himself in a game the other night. No word on the severity, but Williams missed most of the first half following shoulder surgery, so he needs to get at-bats.
LHP Jordan Montgomery has been promoted from Double-A Trenton to Triple-A Scranton, reports Shane Hennigan. Montgomery is replacing the since traded Vicente Campos, who replaced the called up Luis Severino.
Baseball America provided scouting reports on the all the players involved in the Andrew Miller and Carlos Beltran trades, so make sure you check that out (Miller, Beltran). They’re free. The pieces are not behind the paywall.
And finally, OF Blake Rutherford was named the rookie Appalachian League Offensive Player of the Week while RHP Luis Cedeno was named the Low-A South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week.

Triple-A Scranton (7-1 loss to Lehigh Valley)

CF Jake Cave: 0-4, 2 K
1B Tyler Austin: 1-3, 1 BB, 1 K
RF Cesar Puello: 2-3, 1 R, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 K, 1 HBP — got picked off first … he’s had a nice year, but it’s hard to think he’ll be with the Yankees beyond this season … they simply have too many upper level outfielders
DH Ike Davis: 0-4, 1 K
RHP Brady Lail: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 8/2 GB/FB — 52 of 85 pitches were strikes (61%)
LHP Chasen Shreve: 0.2 IP, zeroes, 0/1 GB/FB — six pitches, five strikes
RHP Conor Mullee: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1/2 GB/FB — only six of 14 pitches were strikes in his second rehab outing
RHP Johnny Barbato: 1 IP, zeroes, 1 K, 2/0 GB/FB — nine of 12 pitches were strikes

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Yanks send Carlos Beltran to Rangers for three prospects

August 1, 2016 by Mike Leave a Comment

The tear down of the 2016 Yankees has continued. Carlos Beltran has been traded to the Rangers for three prospects, both clubs announced. The three prospects are all right-handed pitchers: Dillon Tate, Nick Green, and Erik Swanson. Evan Grant says the Yankees are paying the remainder of Beltran’s $15M salary this season, which they supposedly did not want to do. So much for that.

Beltran has been, by no small margin, the Yankees’ best hitter this season. No one else is even close. Beltran has hit .304/.344/.546 (134 wRC+) with 21 doubles and 22 homers in 99 total games. He leads the team in basically everything. Pick an offensive stat and Carlos is atop the Yankees’ leaderboard. That’s why he was an All-Star this season. Beltran hit .270/.327/.470 (115 wRC+) in three seasons in pinstripes.

The Yankees had the option of keeping Beltran and making him the qualifying offer after the season, but I didn’t love that plan for a number of reasons. They were able to turn him into three prospects, including the fourth overall pick in last year’s draft, mostly because the Rangers lost Prince Fielder to season-ending neck surgery a few days ago and have seen their AL West lead shrink from eleven games to two games in, like, two weeks. Texas was desperate.

Tate is the biggest prospect in the trade and he was the aforementioned fourth overall pick in last year’s draft. His prospect stock has already taken a big hit though, mostly because his velocity has fluctuated wildly and he’s had some hamstring problems this summer. Also, a 5.12 ERA (4.43 FIP) as a 22-year-old in Low-A is straight up bad, especially for a guy who went fourth overall out of a major college program (UC Santa Barbara) just last year.

For the time being, I consider Tate more of a lottery ticket pickup than a bonafide top prospect. That isn’t to say it’s a bad trade. Getting a guy with Tate’s upside and pedigree for a rental 39-year-old, even one as good as Beltran, is pretty great. I just need to see more consistent velocity, more strikeouts (19.0%), and fewer walks (9.3%) before I run him up the prospect rankings. Here’s a snippet of MLB.com’s free scouting report:

Tate can dominate hitters with two pitches, a lively 92-98 mph fastball and a sharp 85-89 mph slider … He has improved his changeup since he started using it more often, but it still has a ways to go before it becomes a reliable third pitch … Most scouts think he can remain a starter because he’s so athletic, which helps him throw strikes and should allow him to stay healthy and smooth out his delivery.

Green and Swanson, the other two prospects coming to the Yankees, were also 2015 draftees like Tate. Green was selected in the seventh round and Swanson in the eighth round. It’s worth noting the Yankees drafted Green out of high school back in the 35th round of the 2013 draft. I’m sure it’s not a coincidence they acquired him now. He still has some fans in the organization.

The 21-year-old Green has a 4.98 ERA (3.17 FIP) with a great strikeout rate (27.7%) and an okay walk rate (8.8%) in 34.1 Low-A innings this year. He’s an arm strength guy with good athleticism who’s run his fastball up to 95 mph. A work in progress curveball is his second offering. Swanson, 22, has a 3.43 ERA (3.25 FIP) with a 22.9% strikeout rate and a 7.4% walk rate in 81.1 High-A innings this season. He’s a four-pitch fastball/slider/curveball/changeup guy.

The Yankees did not have to trade Beltran but they kinda did. The trade proves he had more value than the supplemental pick the team would have received after the season had he rejected the qualifying offer, and the Yankees need as much young talent as they can get. Beltran’s value was not sky high because he’s had some injury issues and is a defensive liability, so landing a lottery ticket like Tate is a nice get. Green and Swanson are gravy.