Scouting the Yankees in the Arizona Fall League

Dillon Tate

The good news is that the Yankees have been successful in restoring Tate’s velocity. He’s been working in the mid-90’s during his first two Arizona Fall League appearances. The bad news is that Tate has gotten hammered in the early going, allowing four earned runs on five hits (including two home runs) in his three innings of work. He does have four Ks and hasn’t issued a free pass yet.

New York still has Tate pitching out of the bullpen in the AFL. Since coming over at the August 1st trade deadline, he’s worked exclusively as a reliever. When asked about the change, Tate didn’t seem to care about his role either way, telling Randy Miller of NJ Advance Media, “Pitching is pitching to me. Whatever I can do to help the team win.”

While he’s making progress with the fastball, Tate’s secondary pitches have also been a concern. He was candid when asked about the status of his arsenal following his most recent appearance, telling reporters:

"At this point in time I’d probably say the slider needs more work. I’ve worked on the changeup and it’s better, but it can still use more work. Both of the pitches really."

One MLB scout speaking on the condition of anonymity recently had some harsh things to say about Tate to MIller, claiming “He doesn’t know how to pitch” and expressing doubts about his ability to stick as a starter long-term. The scout blamed the 22-year-old preparation on his struggles this year.

"He works hard,” the scout went on. It’s not his work ethic. It’s how he works. It’s what he does and his stubbornness in it. If he doesn’t change that, he won’t succeed."

The Yankees acquired Tate as the centerpiece of the Carlos Beltran trade back at the deadline. He was the fourth overall pick in the 2015 draft, but some serious questions about his future have emerged during his first full professional season.