Scouting grades: Fastball: 55 | Slider: 55 | Changeup: 55 | Control: 45 | Overall: 40
After barely pitching during his freshman year and then starring as a reliever as a sophomore, Tate moved into UC Santa Barbara's rotation as a junior and emerged as college baseball's top pitching prospect, ultimately going to the Rangers with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2015 Draft. After he signed for $4.2 million, his stuff regressed and he fell out of favor quickly. Texas dealt him with Erik Swanson and Nick Green to get Carlos Beltran from the Yankees in the summer of 2016, and after parts of three seasons in New York's system, Tate was sent to the Orioles, along with Cody Carroll and Josh Rogers, in the 2018 Trade Deadline deal for Zack Britton.
Tate resisted incorporating some delivery changes the Rangers wanted in his first full pro season, after which his fastball dipped into the upper 80s and his secondary pitches flattened out. Since New York allowed him to return to his college mechanics after the trade, his four-seam fastball is sitting in the low 90s and touching higher. More important has been development of Tate's two-seamer, a pitch that he throws with late sinking action that helped him generate ground balls at a 54 percent clip in 2018. His hard slider and changeup show signs of becoming above-average offerings, though both can be inconsistent, as Tate struggles to execute both pitches in the same outing.
Whether Tate will wind up as a starter or reliever is unclear. Though he throws strikes with all four of his pitches, he doesn't miss as many bats as he should with his pure stuff, which could play up in shorter stints. He has added some strength since turning pro but still has to prove his durability after missing time with hamstring issues (2016), shoulder woes (2017) and a quad injury (2018). Statcast - Pitching Season Pitches Batted Balls Barrels Barrel % Exit Velocity Launch Angle XBA XSLG WOBA XWOBA XWOBACON Hard Hit % K % BB % 2019 350 59 2 3.4 86.0 2.5 .225 .341 .320 .304 .313 28.8 21.5 9.7 ALL 350 59 2 3.4 86.0 2.5 .225 .341 .320 .304 .313 28.8 21.5 9.7 MLB 40553 6.3 87.5 11.2 .251 .412 .317 .318 .371 34.5 21.7 8.3 Transactions Team Date Transaction 08/23/2019 Baltimore Orioles recalled RHP Dillon Tate from Norfolk Tides. 08/05/2019 Baltimore Orioles optioned RHP Dillon Tate to Norfolk Tides. 07/26/2019 Baltimore Orioles recalled Dillon Tate from Bowie Baysox. 06/06/2019 RHP Dillon Tate assigned to Bowie Baysox from Frederick Keys. 06/03/2019 RHP Dillon Tate assigned to Frederick Keys from Bowie Baysox. 04/30/2019 Bowie Baysox placed RHP Dillon Tate on the 7-day injured list retroactive to April 29, 2019. 03/10/2019 Baltimore Orioles optioned RHP Dillon Tate to Bowie Baysox. 11/20/2018 Baltimore Orioles selected the contract of Dillon Tate from Bowie Baysox. 07/24/2018 Baltimore Orioles traded LHP Zach Britton to New York Yankees for RHP Cody Carroll, RHP Dillon Tate and LHP Josh Rogers. 07/24/2018 RHP Dillon Tate assigned to Bowie Baysox. 07/24/2018 Trenton Thunder activated RHP Dillon Tate from the 7-day disabled list. 07/15/2018 Trenton Thunder placed RHP Dillon Tate on the 7-day disabled list retroactive to July 12, 2018. Quad injury. 02/02/2018 New York Yankees invited non-roster RHP Dillon Tate to spring training. 08/08/2017 RHP Dillon Tate assigned to Trenton Thunder from Tampa Yankees. 06/20/2017 RHP Dillon Tate assigned to Tampa Yankees from Charleston RiverDogs. 09/09/2016 RHP Dillon Tate assigned to Scottsdale Scorpions. 08/03/2016 RHP Dillon Tate assigned to Charleston RiverDogs. 08/01/2016 New York Yankees traded DH Carlos Beltran and cash to Texas Rangers for RHP Nick Green, RHP Erik Swanson and RHP Dillon Tate. 05/04/2016 Hickory Crawdads activated RHP Dillon Tate from the 7-day disabled list. 04/17/2016 Hickory Crawdads placed RHP Dillon Tate on the 7-day disabled list. 08/14/2015 RHP Dillon Tate assigned to Hickory Crawdads from Spokane Indians. 06/14/2015 RHP Dillon Tate assigned to Spokane Indians. 06/12/2015 Texas Rangers signed RHP Dillon Tate.
