Justus Kane Sheffield (born May 13, 1996) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

in the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...

organization. He previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

. He was drafted by the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

in the first round of the

2014 MLB draft The 2014 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft was held from June 5 through June 7, 2014, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The first two rounds were conducted on June 5, followed by rounds three through ten on June ...

. 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

Career

Sheffield attended

Tullahoma High School Tullahoma High School is a public high school located in Tullahoma, Coffee County, Tennessee. It is operated by the Tullahoma City Schools. Campus The current high school in Tullahoma was established on the North Jackson Street campus in 195 ...

Tullahoma, Tennessee Tullahoma is a city in Coffee and Franklin counties in southern Middle Tennessee, United States. The population was 20,339 at the 2020 census. In 2019, the population was estimated to be 19,555. It is the principal city of the Tullahoma micropol ...

. He threw two

no-hitters In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

while in high school, including a 17–strikeout game as a senior. He finished his senior season 11–0 with a 0.34

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(ERA) and 131 strikeouts in innings pitched. He also batted .405/.478/.620 with three

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s. For his play he was named the Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year. Sheffield committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and rail magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provided the school its initial $1-million ...

Cleveland Indians

The

selected Sheffield in the first round (31st overall) of the

, and he signed with Cleveland, bypassing Vanderbilt. In 2015, he pitched for the

Lake County Captains The Lake County Captains are a Minor League Baseball team in Eastlake, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, that plays in the Midwest League as the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. The Captains joined the Class A Midwest League following t ...

of the Class A

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

. He threw innings, and had a 9-4 record and a 3.31 ERA. Sheffield began the 2016 season with the

Lynchburg Hillcats The Lynchburg Hillcats are a Minor League Baseball team in Lynchburg, Virginia that plays in the Carolina League and is the Single-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They were a farm team of the Atlanta Braves from 2011 to 2014, the Cincinna ...

of the

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

New York Yankees

On July 31, 2016, the Indians traded Sheffield along with

Clint Frazier Clint Jackson Frazier (born September 6, 1994) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. He previously played for the New York Yankees and Chicago Cubs. A top prospect for the 2013 MLB draft, the Cleveland I ...

Ben Heller Benjamin Heller (born August 5, 1991) is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees from 2016 to 2017, and 2019 to 2020. Career H ...

and

J. P. Feyereisen Jonathon Paul Feyereisen (born February 7, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2020 and has also played for the Tampa B ...

to the

for Andrew Miller. He finished the 2016 season with the

Tampa Yankees Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

of the Class A-Advanced

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

, where he posted a 10–6 record with a 3.09 ERA. He spent 2017 with the

Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the Doub ...

of the

Class AA Double-A (officially Class AA) is the second-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946, below only Triple-A. There are currently 30 teams classified at the Double-A level, one for each team in Major League ...

Eastern League, going 7-6 with a 3.18 ERA in innings pitched. In 2018, Sheffield started the season with the

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pen ...

of the

Class AAA Triple-A (officially Class AAA) has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL ...

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

. In August, the team converted him into a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue (medical), fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection (sports), ejection, or for other strategic ...

in preparation for a

September call-up A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

to the major leagues. He made his MLB debut on September 19 against the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

and gave up a single to his first batter,

Brock Holt Brock Wyatt Holt (born June 11, 1988), nicknamed "The Brock Star", is an American former professional baseball player. Well known for his role as a utility player, Holt played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red ...

Seattle Mariners

On November 19, 2018, the Yankees traded Sheffield,

Dom Thompson-Williams Dominique Danton Thompson-Williams (born April 21, 1995) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. Career Thompson-Williams attended East High School in Sioux City, Iowa. In 2013, he was named the state's hi ...

, and

Erik Swanson Erik Donald Swanson (born September 4, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019 with the Seattle Mariners. Amateur career Swanson attended Mariemo ...

to the

for James Paxton. 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. 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. In 2022, Sheffield appears 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. Sheffield was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

on January 19, 2023 to make room for

Tommy La Stella Thomas Frank La Stella (born January 31, 1989), nicknamed TL and 3 AM, is an American Infielder, professional baseball infielder in the San Francisco Giants organization. He previously played for the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Ang ...

on the roster. On January 26, Sheffield cleared waivers and was sent outright to the Triple-A

Tacoma Rainiers The Tacoma Rainiers are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. They are located in Tacoma, Washington, and play their home games at Cheney Stadium, which opened in 1960. ...

Personal life

His brother,

Jordan Sheffield Jordan Ladon Sheffield (born June 1, 1995) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He played college baseball at Vanderbilt University and has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies. Career Ama ...

, is a pitcher for the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

. Sheffield was arrested on January 12, 2015, and was charged with underage drinking and

aggravated burglary Burglary is a statutory offence in England and Wales. In the three years to 2018 burglary reports in England and Wales rose by 6% while criminal charges for burglary fell by 33%. The number of police officers available to investigate burglary a ...

. He pleaded guilty at Coffee County Court House in

, to charges of underage drinking and

criminal trespass Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person, trespass to chattels, and trespass to land. Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery, wounding, ...

with a deferred judgment, so that the charges could be expunged from his record in a year.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sheffield, Justus 1996 births Living people People from Tullahoma, Tennessee Baseball players from Tennessee Major League Baseball pitchers New York Yankees players Seattle Mariners players Arizona League Indians players Lake County Captains players Lynchburg Hillcats players Tampa Yankees players Trenton Thunder players Gulf Coast Yankees players Scottsdale Scorpions players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Tacoma Rainiers players Arkansas Travelers players