Dillon Tate has a pretty significant ceiling to be tapped.
The New York Yankees made a team strength, their bullpen, a super strength with the acquisition of left-handed closer Zach Britton from the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday. In the process the Yankees dealt away right-handed pitching prospects Dillon Tate and Cody Carroll as well as left-handed pitching prospect Josh Rogers.
The Yankees traded from a position of strength too. The upside on at least two of the prospects is significant enough to consider the trade for Britton a bit of an overpay but given the depth of the Yankees farm system and the fact that all three pitchers were close to being needed to be protected on the 40-man roster it's a trade that may not sting all that much either short-term or long-term.
Here's what the Yankees gave up:
1) RHP, Dillon Tate: The Yankees acquired this right-handed pitcher as part of a package in the Carlos Beltran trade with the Rangers at the 2016 trade deadline. Originally drafted by Texas in the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of UC-Santa Barbara, he was having a solid season in Double-A Trenton this year, going 5-2 with a 3.38 ERA and 75 strikeouts in 82.2 innings.
He has stuff too, averaging 93-97 mph with his fastball and flashing two secondary pitches [a slider and changeup] that had long-term above average potential but haven't quite gotten to that level just yet. In fact, given his smaller stature build, power arm, current stuff, and developing pitch-ability he long compared favorably to current Toronto Blue Jays starting pitcher Marcus Stroman.
What the Yankees could have given up with Tate: Like Stroman, Tate runs the whole gambit of potential projections, from power relieving setup man to anywhere from a front-half to back-half big league starting pitcher. If things break right in Tate's development, the Stroman comparison will not be all that far off as a pitcher whose ceiling will always be considered higher than the actual on-the-field production, one who pitches more like a middle of the rotation big league starting pitcher, but can still provide many valuable innings.
What the Yankees most likely gave up with Tate: The fallback projection is a power relieving setup man cut in the Tommy Kahnle mold. The more likely projection is a Stroman-like middling starting pitcher. In either case, with the likes of Domingo Acevedo, Chance Adams, and even the recently demoted Domingo German, the Yankees still have a plethora of in-house options to fill the Tate void short-term and have even more options long-term.
2) RHP, Cody Carroll: A perfect example of both the Yankees scouting and player development teams doing their job, the Yankees drafted right-handed pitcher Cody Carroll in the 22nd round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of Southern Mississippi University. and he's been one of the steadier performers ever since. In fact, he was having another fine season this year in Triple-A Scranton, notching nine saves with 2.38 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 41.2 innings pitched.
Like Tate, Carroll has some top-shelf stuff too, including a fastball that routinely sits 94-97 mph with some sink and movement, and an above average breaking ball that acts more like a 'slurve' than either a traditional curveball or slider. Naturally strong too, he's the kind of guy who can give multiple innings in multiple games in a given week so from that respect he has a ton of value.
What the Yankees could have given up with Carroll: Carroll's later-round selection helps disguise with otherwise very well could be a big league closer type ceiling. He has the power fastball, power breaking ball combination to achieve that kind of ceiling and that's not even including a more than representative changeup with a significant ceiling of its own. There's some Jeurys Familia-like stuff and talent that could slide to the end of the bullpen someday should the confidence begin to soar.
What the Yankees most likely gave up with Tate: Carroll has a closer's ceiling for sure but his more likely projection is that of a power relieving setup man as there are better pure arms in most farm systems. Think of a Tommy Kahnle-like impact on a big league bullpen.
3) LHP, Josh Rogers: The third pitching prospect sent to the Orioles in the Britton deal was arguably the most expendable from the Yankees' perspective. New York drafted this left-handed pitcher in the 11th round of the 2015 MLB Draft out of the University of Louisville and while he's been a steady performer ever since then, including posting a 3.95 ERA for Triple-A Scranton this season, he was buried both short-term and long-term in a pitching rich Yankee organization.
Stuff-wise he was middling, averaging 88-93 mph with his fastball with two average secondary pitches and got by more on his natural feel for pitching, guile, and strike-throwing aiblity than he had on pure stuff. His ceiling wasn't very high.
What the Yankees could have given up with Rogers: The natural feel for pitching and given his left-handedness, Rogers has a viable back-half starting pitcher ceiling, one more likely destined as a potential #4 or [even more likely] #5 guy in big league starting rotation. Think former Mets pitcher Jonathon Niese for a good comparison if things break right. The problem? The Yankees already have that in the form of Jordan Montgomery when he's healthy enough to return.
What the Yankees most likely gave up with Rogers: In today's day and age of power arms, Rogers simply can't compare with a host of others stuff-wise and that might limit his number of opportunities. Chances are he most likely fills a spot starter, long reliever type mold if anything long-term, and the Yankees have a number of options like that, all of which have even higher upsides.
Summary: With an impending problem this upcoming offseason, the Yankees needed to trim the would-be-40-man roster fat and were able to do it in a way to acquire an All Star reliever. While the pitching prospects they traded could prove valuable to the Orioles in due time, they were also expendable chips for the Yankees, a team that can easily replace all of them both short-term and long-term. It was a trade that made a lot of sense for the Yankees.