The New York Yankees acquired LHP Justus Sheffield from the Cleveland Indians in a deadline deal. What kind of pitcher did they get?
Who Is He?
Sheffield was drafted by the Cleveland Indians with the 31st pick of the 1st round of the 2014 draft out of high school in Tennessee. The Indians sent Sheffield to their Arizona Rookie League team, where he made 8 appearances, 4 of them starts, throwing 20 1/3 innings with a 4.87 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, and 9/29 BB/K ratio.
The Indians sent Sheffield to their low-A affiliate at Lake County in the Midwest League in 2015. He spent the entire season there, making 26 starts, throwing 127 2/3 innings with a 3.31 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, and 38/138 BB/K ratio. Baseball America ranked Sheffield as their #81 prospect in the game.
Sheffield started his 2016 season with high-A Lynchburg in the Carolina League, and he made 19 starts there, throwing 95 1/3 innings, posting a 3.59 ERA and 1.37 WHIP with a 40/93 BB/K ratio. Since the trade to the New York Yankees, he has been assigned to Tampa in the high-A Florida State League, where he’s made 3 starts, throwing 17 1/3 innings, posting a 1.04 ERA and 0.81 WHIP with a 4/17 BB/K ratio. In midseason rankings, Baseball America moved Sheffield up to their #69 prospect and MLB.com ranked Sheffield at #88 in their midseason list.
Next: Sheffield's scouting report