Rank History
| Year | Team | Position | Team Rank | OFP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | WAS | LHP | 8 | 45 |
Grades Update: Jan 2021
| OFP | Role | FB | CB | CH | Cnt/Cmd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45 | 40 | 45 | 60 | 40 | 60/50 |
Jan 2021 Report
Evaluator: Trevor Hooth
Age: 23 yr
Height: 6-0
Weight: 185 lbs
Hits/Throws: L/L
Acquired: 2018 Round 2
RuleV: 2021
Physical Description: Lean frame. Sloping shoulders. Lower half looks more filled out, but there is room to project more on the frame.
Delivery & Mechanics: Easy, repeatable mechanics. Standard 3/4 slot. Starts with body slightly off center towards the first base side. Hands start up by his neck. Chest high leg lift. As the leg goes down his hands follow and his back knee bends to help drive out towards the plate. He lands closed and throws across his body. Finishes with a flat back, upper half parallel to the ground. Leg comes though and he finishes even facing the plate.
Fastball: 88-90 T92. There's some sink to this. The pitch excels at creating groundballs. It plays best when peppering the corners low, rather than being elevated. He likes to bust it in on righties hands and make some firewood. With good sequencing it can garner some whiffs in on the hands. As he fills out this pitch could become an average offering. Grade: 45
Curveball: 77-83. 12-6 break, and a lot of it. There is sharp break with this pitch that makes a legitimate swing and miss offering. He commands it well enough to use it early in counts too. He uses it early and often to both lefties and righties. When he does miss with it, it's rarely up, mostly it'll be in the dirt from overthrowing. This is what Cate is known for, and for good reason, this is a legit plus pitch and a little better command on it would put it into a plus-plus conversation. Grade: 60
Changeup: A clear third pitch in usage. It gets decent tumble at the bottom of the zone. It looks like Cate has a tendency to slow up his mechanics with this offering. It can be another groundball creating weapon with a little more deception. Grade: 40
Control and Command: He rarely misses up in the zone. Generally it will be missing low or a little wide on the corners. He's always around the zone and posted above average walk numbers in his first full season as a pro. He appears to overthrow when he's pressing for a strike and that causes the ball to find the dirt at a high rate. That's not the worst place to miss since he excels at creating grounders. So he needs to live low in the zone, which he does very well. Control: 60 | Command: 50
Overall: Even as an amateur, Cate had a reputation of having an absolute hammer of a curveball. That remains true in the pro ranks. He compliments it with a fastball and changeup that create grounders well, but any strikeout ability is likely coming from that breaking ball. He's a pitcher who will have to live low in the zone, which does. He'll try to pepper the corners, but if he misses then he finds himself behind in counts frequently. Injury history and a plus breaking ball have people talking about a relief role, but there's backend rotation potential with Cate as he fills out more. I'd expect the Nationals to keep him starting.
OFP: 45
Role: 40 - Spot Starter or Low Leverage Reliever
Risk: High
