C’s Chat – 2025 Vancouver Canadians RHP #27 Austin Cates – C's Plus Baseball

The latest C’s Chat is with 2025 Vancouver Canadians pitcher Austin Cates.

The Henderson, Nevada native attended Coronado High School in his hometown and rounded out his career with the Cougars on a high note. Cates put together a senior season that saw him bat .448 with a home run and 11 runs batted in over 16 games as a first baseman in 2021. On the mound, he won five of six decisions with a 1.62 earned run average and posted a 50-15 strikeout-walk total over 34⅔ innings.

Cates was going to attend the University of Hawaii-Hilo but opted to remain home in the Silver State by going to the College of Southern Nevada, the same place 2022 C’s infielder and Surrey, BC native Damiano Palmegiani attended the year before.

It was during his freshman season at CSN in 2022 when Cates’ biggest supporter, his father Roger Cates, passed away. In Austin’s first home game since his father’s passing, he hit a home run against Colorado Northwestern on April 28.

Cates proved to be a wily Coyote in the batter’s box and on the pitching rubber in his two years at Southern Nevada. He hit a combined .355 with a .935 on-base-plus-slugging-percentage in 85 games and drove in 55 runs. On the bump, Cates was 10-3 with a 4.02 ERA, including a perfect 5-0 in his 2021 freshman campaign in which he earned All-Region 18 First Team honours as a freshman. He struck out 100 batters against 24 walks over a combined 103 innings.

Division I baseball was the next destination for Cates, who joined the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in 2024 for his junior season. UNLV’s “Fear the ‘Stache” slogan was appropriate as the mustachioed hurler who asserted himself with the Runnin’ Rebels by becoming their Friday starter. Appropriately wearing number 21 on his jersey, Cates was a blackjack dealer on the mound because, like the house, he won more often than not against opposing batters. He captured All-Mountain West Conference plaudits thanks to his ability to avoid walks. Cates led all NCAA Division I pitchers in strikeout-to-walk ratio with just over seven whiffs for every walk. He handed out a free pass just 15 times in his 14 appearances on the slope to go with 107 strikeouts in 90⅓ innings and a 6-5 record with a 4.08 ERA.

Baseball America ranked Cates as the 488th-best prospect for the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft and filed this report on him.

“Cates sits around 89-91 mph with his fastball but has touched 95 at peak. The pitch has below-average pure velocity but above-average riding life and he does a nice job establishing the zone with the pitch. His best offering is a low-80s changeup with significant vertical separation from the fastball thanks to tremendous tumbling action and despite that movement, he also showed a tremendous ability to spot in the pitch in the zone and generate chases below it. Cates also has a slider around 80 mph but the fastball/changeup has been his go-to duo. Despite underwhelming velocity, Cates’ changeup quality and strong 3.9% walk rate should make him an appealing draft day target at some point.”

The Toronto Blue Jays would select Cates a lot sooner by taking him in the seventh round, 217th overall and giving him a signing bonus of $222,500. Scouted by Adam Arnold, Cates would have to wait until 2025 to make his professional debut.

After tossing five shutout innings in his first-ever start with the Dunedin Blue Jays, Cates would encounter his first struggles on the mound and sat with an ERA of 7.25 in early May. He whittled that down by more than half to 3.51 in early August, thanks to a stretch that saw win all five decisions in June and July with monthly ERAs of 2.12 and 0.90.

After ringing up 76 batters and walking only 27 in 82 innings with the D-Jays, Cates was promoted to Vancouver on August 12. He made his debut two nights later in Spokane and shut down the host squad for the first three innings before giving up four runs in 4⅔ innings in an eventual win for the C’s.

Cates was lights out after that as he piled up 10 strikeouts and gave up just one run in an eventual victory over Tri-City in his Nat Bailey Stadium debut on August 20. He was even better over his next two starts as he spun two scintillating starts of six shutout innings with an eye-popping K/BB ratio of 17-0 to earn consecutive wins at Hillsboro on August 25 and August 31. Those efforts resulted in Cates winning the Northwest League Pitcher of the Week award. In his final start of the season, Cates showed he was slightly human. He just missed out on a third straight start of six shutout stanzas, allowing just one run while punching out nine batters to earn his first win at Nat Bailey Stadium against Everett on September 6. He put up a 1.95 ERA and walked just six batters while whiffing 37 in 27⅔ innings with Monty’s Mounties.

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C’s Plus Baseball caught up with the 22-year-old Cates after his debut start at Nat Bailey Stadium in late August. This interview has been edited for clarity.

C’s Plus Baseball – Austin, you hail from Nevada. Take us through the timeline of what eventually led you to College of Southern Nevada and then UNLV.

Austin Cates – I started playing baseball since T-ball when I was little. Played travel ball throughout 8U until about 18U. Played for one high school, Coronado in Vegas. Had one offer to Hawaii-Hilo, which I signed out of during COVID, ended up decommitting and then signing to the College of Southern Nevada. Went two years there, then ultimately ended up going to UNLV. I spent my junior year there, had a good year, then got picked up with the Blue Jays.

CPB – Looking back through your career growing up. What are the moments that stand out for you?

AC – Yeah, I have one special game. I mean, all of my college games at UNLV were pretty special. But one game, it was the week, I would say, like a week or two after my Dad passed. I was DH-ing that game and ended up hitting a home run. It was a pretty cool moment to see my coach and everybody in the stands just kind of know the moment and then what happened. Just a pretty cool moment that I hold close.

CPB – Obviously, your Dad was a huge role model for you growing up and supported you throughout your career.

AC – Yeah, I mean, he was pretty big in my life. He would drive me to all my baseball tournaments. And out of town, he would always be the road trip guy. My Mom’s pretty close, too. She’s a really big supporter in my life. Grandma’s good. She’s up in Texas right now. She’s a really big supporter, too. I just have a good support group and they’re all pretty close to me.

CPB – The College of Southern Nevada. How would you describe your two years there?

AC – It was great. It was some of the most fun I’ve had playing baseball. Really close group. All the coaches are really, really close to me. You know, I just really cherish the time developing there and getting, you know, perfecting my craft, I guess.

CPB – You were a two-way player, as you mentioned earlier, hitting a home run. When was the decision made to go full-time as a pitcher?

AC – UNLV. I tried to hit. I wanted to but they wouldn’t let me. So I ended up being a pitcher only there.

CPB – Was it hard to let hitting go?

AC – It was. I mean, I do miss hitting a lot. Kind of got me out of some conditioning for pitching sometimes. But yeah, I do miss playing first and hitting. It was a grind, but I liked the grind so it was fun.

CPB – UNLV. I actually went to a game there once, and I’ll tell you what, the ball flies out of the park. But you did a great job. I believe your K to BB ratio was 7 to 1. What was the key to your success pitching there?

AC – Just sticking to routines, going after the batter. I mean, sticking to an approach and knowing that I could beat mostly everybody there was my mental state. I was trying my best to get wins for the team and ultimately try to make the playoffs, but it didn’t end up happening. And then, you know, just grinding with the guys. I mean, it was a great group. I still talk to many of them. Just being able to hold myself accountable and them accountable as well.

CPB – I guess one of the things you focus on on the mound, especially there in UNLV was really just trying to keep the ball down?

AC – Keep the ball down, get quick outs on the ground and try not to let the ball get in the air because it would fly.

CPB – What is your pitching repertoire right now, what is it that you’re throwing?

AC – I throw a four-seam fastball, splitter, slider, and developing a curveball, which is a pretty good pitch.

CPB – How would you rank your pitches from best to what still needs work?

AC – I would say fastball and splitter at the top. The slider’s gotten a lot better since spring training. And then the curveball, I’m still working on it but I think it’s still pretty good.

CPB – Fastball, I guess, a four-seam?

AC – Mm-hmm. Four-seam.

CPB – From what I’ve heard, your fastball’s got a lot of ride on it. Can you talk about your fastball and how it’s helped you be successful?

AC – I would say so. I like to play the north-south game with my fastball and splitter. I think they play well off each other. Being a carry guy, it kind of helps with that. You know, I started trying to tuck my thumb a little bit more when I’m throwing my heater. And I think it’s really helped a lot with the velo and the carry. So I think that’s been a big change in it.

CPB – The splitter, Kevin Gausman is famous for it. Did you learn that by yourself, or did you get help with that?

AC – I taught myself that in high school. I couldn’t throw a change-up, couldn’t really figure it out. So I was just messing around with different grips. And one day, that one felt really comfortable in my hand and threw it, and it had some good movement. So I just kept it.

CPB – The splitter with the downward movement, that’s the key for you. Describe how that splitter works for you.

AC – I mean, I just like to play it off my fastball. I just throw it like a fastball, and it just dives off the table. And I mean, it’s been working pretty well, and I feel like I have pretty good comfortability with it so I would say it’s a pretty good pitch to have.

CPB – And you mentioned the slider as well. Did you teach yourself that, or did you learn the grip from someone else?

AC – I learned that one from Dunedin. I was again, toying it around with different grips, trying to feel something comfortable. And it had good movement, good shape. Ultimately, that one ended up being pretty good. It’s got a good downward and horizontal shape, so I think it’s pretty good.

CPB – Your delivery. It looks fairly conventional. How would you describe it?

AC – Pretty simple. I like to keep it short and simple. And it doesn’t get all out of tune and out of rhythm, so it’s pretty easy to replicate. So I keep doing that.

CPB – The Player Development Complex. Did you ever have a chance to work with technology like that before and how’s that helped you develop as a pitcher?

AC – I think it’s been pretty good. I really only used Trackman before that. And getting on the Edgetronic and all the biomechanics stuff is pretty cool, and seeing how my body moves. And I think that’s also helped a lot in my development and ultimately getting better.

CPB – Was there something maybe you learned about yourself that maybe you didn’t know before?

AC – Yeah, I would say that I could throw a pretty good slider, and I didn’t know that. At UNLV, I was mainly fastball-splitter, so being able to add that pitch and knowing I can have that in my pocket is pretty cool.

CPB – I want to talk to you about your draft experience. Where were you when you found out?

AC – I was at home. I had a couple of friends and family over. We kind of had an idea that I was going to go in the second day. And when I got the call from Blue Jays, it was a pretty cool moment. Looked over, saw my Mom crying, ultimately made me cry. So it was a pretty emotional, really cool moment.

CPB – Did you have any idea it was going to be the Blue Jays who would take you?

AC – I talked to them quite a bit during the draft process, and I had a good feeling that they were pretty fond of me. And I also thought it was a pretty good idea. I liked all the player development stuff and all the facilities. So it was a great move. I think it was one of the best moments of my life.

CPB – So you get drafted, head down to draft camp. Anyone you hit it off with right away?

AC – Me and Khal Stephen. He’s not with us anymore, he’s with the Guardians. But me and him, we were catch-play partners throughout draft camp and so on. And we ended up being roommates in spring training and then later in Dunedin.

CPB – Going into your offseason, what did the team tell you to work on heading into this year?

AC – Just overall strength and mobility. Going to a strength camp and eventually working on the curveball some more and the slider, keeping the feel and just get stronger.

CPB – You put some good numbers in Dunedin. What was the key to your success?

AC – I had a little rough patch in April and May. And there was some mechanical things. And I ended up tuning those in pretty well and trusting my fastball and off-speed work and sticking to approaches and game plans against different guys. And I think that’s really helped a lot.

CPB – You got the word you’re coming up to Vancouver. Any story with that? Sometimes (Dunedin manager) Gil Kim likes to have fun with you guys before he gives you the news.

AC – Yeah, we had a little team meeting. (Pitching coach) Cory Riordan ended up telling a little story about how my development’s been and routines-wise and ended up promoting me and Hech (Silvano Hechavarria). So that was a pretty cool moment. Then I called my Mom. She started crying again. It’s pretty emotional. It was really cool.

CPB – You made your debut in Spokane, 4⅔ innings. And then the other night, 5 innings, 10 strikeouts. How have you been able to make the adjustment from Florida State League to here?

AC – One thing is the weather. I mean, it’s a lot cooler up here. And I think it’s been a lot better. Not sweating my butt off. And, you know, humidity is different. I think it’s been an easy change. I’ve kind of adjusted to the time zone pretty well. I mean, it’s the same in Vegas. So it’s not too bad. I like it a lot up here.

CPB– That night when you had 10 strikeouts. What was working for you that night?

CPB – The fastball and slider were working pretty well off each other. I felt like I had really good command of the slider. I was putting it where I wanted to. And the splitter obviously played off pretty well. But I think mostly fastball and slider were working the best.

CPB– You got to pitch in front of the big crowd here. And of course in Spokane, they get a lot of fans out there, too. What was that like pitching in that kind of atmosphere because you don’t really get that in Dunedin?

AC – Yeah, it was great. I think it was the most fans I pitched in front of overall. I mean, the energy that is fed off the crowd, it was pretty sweet. I mean, you can’t beat it, to be honest.

CPB – How have you found the mound and the atmosphere here at Nat Bailey?

AC – Yeah, it was great. Mound’s in good shape, I think. The stadium’s beautiful. I mean, the field’s great. Just got redone, didn’t it?

CPB – Yes, it did.

AC – Yeah, it looks amazing. I mean, yeah, the crowd being kind of right on top of you is also a really cool moment. It’s just cool being able to hear the crowd when you get that last strikeout or something. It’s just a great feeling.

CPB – Wrapping up, your favourite major league team and player growing up?

AC – The Astros. And my favourite player would be, I’d have to say, Frank Thomas.

CPB – And the final question, the Canadians have lots of different uniforms—white, red, black, blue, gray, lumberjack—do you have a favourite?

AC – I want to wear the lumberjack. That one’s my favourite, I think. Right now, I think it’s the red, just because my old college colour was red. And it was just pretty cool.

Austin Cates File

Born – May 20, 2003, in Henderson, Nevada
Height/Weight – 6’1″, 210 pounds
Bats/Throws – Left/Right
Uniform Numbers – Wore number 31 in 2022 and number 10 in 2023 with the College of Southern Nevada. Wore number 21 with the University of Nevada-Las Vegas in 2024. Wore number 18 with Dunedin in 2025.
Professional Debut – April 6, 2025, for the Dunedin Blue Jays vs. Clearwater Threshers. Pitched five shutout innings with two strikeouts.
First Professional Strikeout – April 6, 2025, Struck out Clearwater’s Diego Gonzalez swinging.
First Professional Save – May 11, 2025, for Dunedin at Fort Myers Miracle. Allowed one run over three innings and struck out four.
First Professional Win – June 6, 2025, for Dunedin at St. Lucie Mets. Pitched 523 shutout innings and struck out three.
C’s Debut – August 14, 2025, at Spokane.
First C’s Win – August 26, 2025, vs. the Hillsboro Hops. Pitched six shutout innings and struck out eight.
Twitter – @austincatess
Instagram – @austincatess
Now You Know – The last player from UNLV to play for the C’s was catcher Jacob Sharp in 2024.
The More You Know – The last Runnin’ Rebel drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays before Cates was outfielder Eric Neilsen back in the 12th round of the 2004 MLB Draft.