But Not Quite
I am tempted to say the same thing about RHP Dillon Tate, but something tells me he is a step behind Sheffield. Like Adams at Triple-A, Tate is getting more and more difficult to get a read on.
He was the fourth overall pick in 2015 by the Rangers, did poorly with them, and was later acquired by the Yankees in the Carlos Beltran deal. Since his fastball is back to sitting in the mid-nineties, and he seems to have four good pitches. And he, like Justus, also went to the AFL and did well.
But there have been questions about his make-up, and the Yankees don’t seem quite sure of what they have.
His numbers from camp were more than decent (2.25 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, three SO/zero BB) but he only got four innings. And while he is only two spots behind Sheffield in their prospect rankings, he is unranked in either MLB’s top 100 or Sickel’s top 175; Shef is 67th for Sickel. That shows the real disparity between them.
Right now it looks like the Yanks are going to slow-play Tate.
It appears they want to give him some time to see if he can continue to round into a big-league starter in the minors before deciding how to utilize him in the majors, as opposed to rushing him to the pen as they did German last year.
Tate hasn’t taken disruptions well in the past and might not respond to being bounced around. And he needs the work. But before the end of this season, Tate’s future will be clear for him, us and the Yankees.
The same is true for lesser-known Josh Rodgers.