Justus Sheffield
Justus Kane Sheffield (born May 13, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Atlanta Braves organization. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees and Seattle Mariners.
| Justus Sheffield | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sheffield with the Seattle Mariners in 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| Atlanta Braves | |||||||||||||||
| Pitcher | |||||||||||||||
| Born: May 13, 1996 Tullahoma, Tennessee, U.S. | |||||||||||||||
Bats: Left Throws: Left | |||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||
| September 19, 2018, for the New York Yankees | |||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics (through 2022 season) | |||||||||||||||
| Win–loss record | 12–12 | ||||||||||||||
| Earned run average | 5.47 | ||||||||||||||
| Strikeouts | 155 | ||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||
Medals
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He was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the first round of the 2014 MLB draft. During the 2016 trade deadline, he was traded to the Yankees, where he made his MLB debut on September 19, 2018. Following the 2018 season, Sheffield was traded to the Seattle Mariners.
Career
Sheffield attended Tullahoma High School in Tullahoma, Tennessee. He threw two no-hitters while in high school, including a 17–strikeout game as a senior.[1] He finished his senior season 11–0 with a 0.34 earned run average (ERA) and 131 strikeouts in 61+2⁄3 innings pitched. He also batted .405/.478/.620 with three home runs. For his play he was named the Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year.[2][3][4] Sheffield committed to play college baseball at Vanderbilt University.[5]
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians selected Sheffield in the first round (31st overall) of the 2014 MLB draft, and he signed with Cleveland, bypassing Vanderbilt.[6] In 2015, he pitched for the Lake County Captains of the Class A Midwest League. He threw 127+2⁄3 innings, and had a 9-4 record and a 3.31 ERA.[7] Sheffield began the 2016 season with the Lynchburg Hillcats of the Class A-Advanced Carolina League.[8]
New York Yankees
On July 31, 2016, the Indians traded Sheffield along with Clint Frazier, Ben Heller and J. P. Feyereisen to the New York Yankees for Andrew Miller.[9] He finished the 2016 season with the Tampa Yankees of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League, where he posted a 10–6 record with a 3.09 ERA. He spent 2017 with the Trenton Thunder of the Class AA Eastern League, going 7-6 with a 3.18 ERA in 93+1⁄3 innings pitched.[10]
In 2018, Sheffield started the season with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders of the Class AAA International League. In August, the team converted him into a relief pitcher in preparation for a September call-up to the major leagues.[11]
He made his MLB debut on September 19 against the Boston Red Sox and gave up a single to his first batter, Brock Holt.
Seattle Mariners
On November 19, 2018, the Yankees traded Sheffield, Dom Thompson-Williams, and Erik Swanson to the Seattle Mariners for James Paxton.[12] Sheffield made his Mariner debut on April 26, 2019. He finished 0-1 in 8 games (7 starts) for Seattle. He struck out 37 in 36 innings.
In 2020, Sheffield was 4–3 with a 3.58 ERA in 10 starts.[13] In 2021, Sheffield appeared in 21 games, 15 as a starter. He finished with a record of 7-8, along with a 6.58 ERA.[13] In 2022, Sheffield appeared in 6 games, starting in one of those appearances and pitched 11.2 innings in total. He finished with a record of 1-0 and a 3.86 ERA.[13]
Sheffield was designated for assignment on January 19, 2023 to make room for Tommy La Stella on the roster.[14] On January 26, Sheffield cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple-A Tacoma Rainiers.[15] In 10 games with Tacoma to begin the year, Sheffield struggled immensely to the tune of a 14.04 ERA with 4 strikeouts in 8.1 innings pitched. He was released by the Mariners organization on April 27.[16]
Atlanta Braves
On May 12, 2023, Sheffield signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves organization.[17]
Personal life
His brother, Jordan Sheffield, is a pitcher for the Colorado Rockies.[18][19][20]
Sheffield was arrested on January 12, 2015, and was charged with underage drinking and aggravated burglary.[21] He pleaded guilty at Coffee County Court House in Tullahoma, Tennessee, to charges of underage drinking and criminal trespass with a deferred judgment, so that the charges could be expunged from his record in a year.[22]
References
- ^ "Vanderbilt signee Justus Sheffield throws no-hitter". The Tennessean. April 7, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
- ^ . Archived from the original on May 23, 2015. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
- ^ "Justus Sheffield first TN Gatorade national player of year". The Tennessean. June 4, 2014. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
- ^ Lukehart, Jason (June 5, 2014). "MLB Draft 2014: Indians select Justus Sheffield #31 overall". SB Nation. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
- ^ "Vanderbilt signee named country's top high school baseball player - Nashville Post". Retrieved January 13, 2015.
- ^ "Indians agree to terms with LHP Sheffield". Cleveland Indians. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
- ^ Cleveland Indians prospect Justus Sheffield learned how to pitch in 2015 and he enjoyed the results | cleveland.com
- ^ "Sheffield continues to improve in All-Star season | Local Sports". tullahomanews.com. July 28, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
- ^ "All in? Cleveland Indians acquire Yankees relief ace Andrew Miller for Clint Frazier, other prospects". cleveland.com. July 31, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
- ^ "Justus Sheffield Stats, Highlights, Bio - MiLB.com Stats - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
- ^ "How Yankees began preparing Justus Sheffield for September call-up". NJ.com. August 22, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
- ^ Yankees land James Paxton in trade, send top prospect to Mariners
- ^ a b c "Justus Sheffield Stats".
- ^ McTaggart, Brian (January 19, 2023). "Mariners add La Stella on 1-year deal". MLB.com.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Mariners' Justus Sheffield: Sent outright to Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved January 27, 2023.
- ^ "Transactions".
- ^ "Braves' Justus Sheffield: Gets minors deal from Atlanta". cbssports.com. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
- ^ "BaseballAmerica.com: High School: High Heat: Sheffields Front Brotherly Staff". July 26, 2012. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
- ^ "Five questions with Indians' Justus Sheffield". mlb.com. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
- ^ "Who is Justus Sheffield? Yankees get pitcher in Andrew Miller trade to Indians". nj.com. July 31, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2016.
- ^ "Cleveland Indians' Justus Sheffield arrested, charged with burglary - MiLB.com News - The Official Site of Minor League Baseball". MiLB.com. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
- ^ "Cleveland Indians LHP Justus Sheffield pleads guilty to two charges; sentence reduced". cleveland.com. February 7, 2015. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet