New York Yankees: Updated top 10 prospects for 2018
10. Dillon Tate, RHP
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 5/1/1994 (23)
2017 teams/levels played for: high-A Tampa Yankees, AA Trenton Thunder
2017 Stats: 13 G, 13 GS, 83 1/3 IP, 2.81 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 7% BB, 18.4%
Info: Tate was an elite reliever in college at UC-Santa Barbara before he was moved to the rotation his junior season and made a huge impression, leading to the Texas Rangers drafting him at #4 overall.
After a flashy draft season in 2015, Tate struggled with injury in 2016, leading to his stuff not playing as well, and the Rangers soured on him, utilizing him as the key piece in the trade for Carlos Beltran in midseason.
The New York Yankees have been patient with Tate through injuries to help him fully heal and have definitely benefitted
The New York Yankees have been patient with Tate through injuries to help him fully heal and have definitely benefitted. In 2017, Tate was delayed onto the field, but once on the field, he averaged over 6 1/3 innings per start as the Yankees focused Tate on his dominant ability to generate weak contact.
Tate’s certainly still got swing and miss stuff, featuring a fastball that can run into the upper 90s, sitting in the mid-90s with impressive action low in the zone that he works with a similar low-zone action change and a slider that really generated poor contact in 2017.
The question that many will have is whether Tate is best suited as a starter with stuff that could work as an inning-eater mid-rotation guy once he builds up his arm, or if he’s best utilized as a backend bullpen guy.
The New York Yankees have been patient with Tate to this point, and there’s no reason to push that decision at this point, either. He’ll likely open 2018 in AA Trenton and finish the year in AAA with a shot to provide a power arm in September for the big league club.
9. Luis Medina, RHP
Birthday (age on opening day 2018): 5/3/1999 (18)
2017 teams/levels played for: Dominican Summer League Yankees, Pulaski Yankees
2017 Stats: 10 G, 9 GS, 38 2/3 IP, 5.35 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 14% BB, 22.7% K
Info: Medina has a 5.35 ERA last season in two rookie levels, though provided, he was only 18 years old. That isn’t a guy who typically appears on a list like this, but there’s one number that gives all the explanation needed – 102.
Medina did not just reach 102 in a random one-time gun reading and sit more low- to mid-90s. The New York Yankees saw their 2015 signee out of the Dominican Republic develop what was a projectable arm into consistent velocity in his starts that sat in the upper 90s with routine triple digit readings.
The current Pitch F/X revolution among teams also loves Medina as his fastball is not just elite in velocity, but has incredible spin, as does his hard curve.
As most teenagers with elite velocity, Medina has work to do with his command/control of his pitches, and he could work better with a cutter or slider as his primary secondary pitch as the control struggles are significant with his curve.
Medina has the raw stuff that would likely be successful if he was pushed to low-A, but the New York Yankees have no reason to push him, so it would not surprise if he’s in extended spring and opens the season with a short season league to work on his command/control of all of his stuff and his feel of his offspeed stuff to generate movement.
Next: #7 and #8