Troy Cate

Troy Patrick Cate

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 1", Weight 200 lb.
• School Brigham Young University-Idaho
• High School Fallbrook High School
• Debut May 27, 2007
• Final Game July 21, 2007
• Born October 21, 1980 in Fallbrook, CA USA

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Biographical Information

Troy Cate pitched 14 games with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was the hardest pitcher to hit in Organized Baseball in 2006.

Cate set the Ricks Junior College school record for strikeouts and went 8-2 with 3 shutouts and a 2.35 ERA in his final year. The Seattle Mariners took him in the 6th round of the 2002 amateur draft. He was 6-1 with a 2.00 ERA, .203 opponent average and 95 strikeouts to 11 walks in 85 innings for the Everett AquaSox that summer. He was six strikeouts behind Northwest League leader Andrew Sisco to finish second in the league and second in ERA behind Greg Bruso. He threw the only complete game shutout in the NWL that year, taking just one hour and 57 minutes to do so on September 3. Cate failed to make the league All-Star team as Sisco and Jared Doyle were chosen as the top southpaws but Baseball America ranked him the 15th best prospect in the league, between Jon Nelson and Ricky Nolasco.

Cate tied Ryan Ketchner for the most strikeouts in the Mariners chain in 2003. He went 9-11 with a 4.11 ERA for the Inland Empire 66ers, but his 153 strikeouts were second in the California League to Ketchner's 159. Cate added six more whiffs for the Tacoma Rainiers, where he won his lone decision, allowing three runs (one earned) in 5 1/3 innings. Troy struggled in 2004. He was 3-0 with a 2.61 ERA for Inland Empire but 2-5 with a 6.35 ERA for the San Antonio Missions, allowing a .316 average and only striking out 35 in 56 2/3 innings, a far cry from his first two seasons. Cate missed almost two months of 2005 with left elbow tendonitis. Now a reliever, he was 4-4 with one save and a 2.53 ERA for the 66ers. He struck out 54 in 42 2/3 innings while allowing just one home run and a .221 average.

Cate signed with the St. Louis Cardinals as a free agent before 2006. He split a solid year between the Palm Beach Cardinals (2-2, a save, 1.54, .139 average, 58 strikeouts to 13 walks in 41 innings) and the Springfield Cardinals (1-1, a save, 0.57, 5 hits, 20 strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings, .096 opponent average). His .127 opponent average was the lowest for relievers in the minor leagues, .001 ahead of Juan Salas. Cate was then 3-1 with a 1.21 ERA for the 2006-2007 Mazatlan Deer, with a 1.29 ERA in the postseason, allowing 8 hits in over 21 innings while fanning 21. He joined the Hermosillo Orange Growers for the 2007 Caribbean Series and got a no-decision in a start against the Carolina Giants.

Despite an indifferent performance as a starter and reliever for the Memphis Redbirds to start 2007, Cate was called up to the majors when struggling Anthony Reyes was demoted. He debuted on May 27th, relieving Randy Flores and retiring pinch hitter Austin Kearns on a fly ball to Scott Spiezio. He pitched a scoreless 9th as well and followed with a scoreless inning in his next outing. He was sent down to make roster space for infielder Brendan Ryan with the club needing more infielders, returning to complete his big league season with a 3.38 ERA in 16 innings. He was last spotted in the Toronto Blue Jays system in 2009.

Primary Sources: 2003-2007 Baseball Almanacs, 2007 Cardinals Media Guide