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

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

for the

Sultanes de Monterrey The Sultanes de Monterrey (English: Monterrey Sultans) are a professional baseball club in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Monterrey, Mexico. Established in 1939 as Carta Blanca, the Sultanes have won ten LMB titles, most recently in 2018. Fro ...

of the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(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) Am ...

and

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners 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 ...

. 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) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

in the first round of the

2014 MLB draft The 2014 Major League Baseball 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 6, and the last 30 round ...

. 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

Amateur

Sheffield attended Tullahoma High School in

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 microp ...

. He threw two

no-hitters In baseball, a no-hitter or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

in high school, including a 17–

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

game as a senior. He finished his senior season with an 11-0 record, 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 Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s. He was named the Gatorade National Baseball Player of the Year. In June 2013, he was named to the

USA Baseball The United States Baseball Federation, doing business as USA Baseball, is a 501(c)(3) organization, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that acts as the national Sports governing body, governing body for baseball in the United States. USA Baseball ...

18 and under national team roster. The team won the 2013 18U Baseball World Cup in Taichung, Taiwan. Sheffield committed to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

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 ...

of the

Single-A Single-A, formerly known as Class A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A, Double-A (baseball), Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams cl ...

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 and was a

Mid-Season All-Star. 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 Cincinn ...

of the

High-A 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 (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

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 ...

. He was a

Mid-Season All-Star after pitching to a 3.59 ERA in 19 games over 95.1 innings.

New York Yankees

On July 31, 2016, the Indians traded Sheffield along with Clint Frazier, Ben Heller, and J. P. Feyereisen to the

for Andrew Miller. He finished the 2016 season with the

Tampa Yankees Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa'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 the county seat of Hillsborough C ...

of the High-A

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. Before the 2017 season,

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

ranked Sheffield as the 7th best prospect in the Yankees organization.

Baseball Prospectus Baseball Prospectus (BP) is an organization that publishes a website, BaseballProspectus.com, devoted to the sabermetric analysis of baseball. BP has a staff of regular columnists and provides advanced statistics as well as player and team perf ...

ranked him 5th. 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 D ...

of the Double-A Eastern League, going 7-6 with a 3.18 ERA in innings pitched. Sheffield was named Eastern League Pitcher of the Week for the weeks of May 28 and June 18 and was named a Mid-Season All-Star. He later played in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

and was a 2017 Rising Star. After starting 2018 in Double-A, Sheffield was promoted to 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 Triple-A

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 (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

on May 3, 2018. He was the 12th, 28th, and 40th best prospect in baseball, according to

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

's, MLB's, and Baseball Prospectus' respective mid-season prospect lists. Sheffield was also named to the 2018

All-Star Futures Game The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game hosted by Major League Baseball (MLB) in conjunction with the mid-summer MLB All-Star Game. A team of American League-affiliated prospects competes against a team of National League- ...

. In August, the Yankees converted him into a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who pitches in the game after the starting pitcher or another relief pitcher has been removed from the game due to fatigue (medical), fatigue, injury, ineffectiveness, ejection ...

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, an ...

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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

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 utility player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, Washington Nat ...

Seattle Mariners

On November 19, 2018, the Yankees traded Sheffield, Dom Thompson-Williams, 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. Swanson is one of only two active MLB pl ...

to the

for James Paxton. He was the team's top prospect in 2019, according to MLB.com. Sheffield was called up on April 26, 2019 and allowed two runs and four walks over three innings of relief. He pitched to a 6.87 ERA in 13 appearances for the Triple-A

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

before the Mariners demoted him to the Double-A

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and play in the Texas League. Hi ...

. This was enough for Baseball America to drop him from 27th to 83rd on its top 100 prospect list. Sheffield rebounded with a 2.18 ERA in 78 innings and returned to the Mariners on August 23. He finished the season with a 5.50 ERA over 36 innings for the Mariners. In 2020, Sheffield was included on the Mariners' 60-man player pool during the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

shortened season. He was part of the team's six-man

starting rotation This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See count. 1 ...

to begin the season, pitching to a 3.58 ERA in 10 starts. In 2021, Sheffield had a 6.48 ERA in 15 starts before hitting the

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

with a forearm strain in July. He was reinstated on September 1 and pitched of the bullpen. He allowed eight earned runs in 6.2 innings and was demoted before the end of 2021. In 2022, Sheffield made the team out of spring training as a reliever. He made four appearances in April before being sent down to Tacoma. He was twice recalled from Tacoma during the season. His final appearance for the Mariners was a start on October 4, earning a win and allowing four runs in five innings pitched. For the year, he appeared in 6 games, with one start, pitching 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) is an American former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants, and ...

on the roster. On January 26, Sheffield cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Tacoma. In 10 games with Tacoma to begin the year, Sheffield pitched poorly, with a 14.04 ERA and 4 strikeouts in 8.1 innings pitched. He was released by the Mariners organization on April 27.

Atlanta Braves

On May 12, 2023, Sheffield signed a minor league contract with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

organization. He spent the remainder of the season with the Triple-A

Gwinnett Stripers The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia ...

, also appearing in one game for the Double-A

Mississippi Braves The Mississippi Braves, or M-Braves as they were referred to locally, were a Minor League Baseball team based in Pearl, Mississippi, a suburb of Jackson, from 2005 to 2024. They were the Double-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves and competed in ...

. In 13 games (11 starts) for Gwinnett, Sheffield logged a 2–5 record and 6.63 ERA with 56 strikeouts across innings pitched. He elected free agency following the season on November 6.

Cincinnati Reds

On June 7, 2024, Sheffield signed a minor league contract with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

. In 19 appearances split between the rookie-level

Arizona Complex League Reds The Arizona Complex League Reds are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, competing in the Arizona Complex League of Minor League Baseball. The team plays its home games at Goodyear Ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona. The team is composed m ...

and Triple-A

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, wi ...

, he struggled to a combined 1-7 record and 6.75 ERA with 46 strikeouts across innings pitched. Sheffield elected free agency following the season on November 4.

Gastonia Ghost Peppers

On April 18, 2025, Sheffield signed with the Gastonia Ghost Peppers of the

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States, and the headquarters are l ...

. In 15 appearances (six starts) for Gastonia, Sheffield logged a 5-2 record and 5.27 ERA with 33 strikeouts across innings pitched.

Sultanes de Monterrey

On July 2, 2025, Sheffield's contract was purchased by the

of the

Personal life

His brother, Jordan Sheffield, pitched 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

. Sheffield was arrested on January 12, 2015 and 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 (see below), trespass to chattels, and trespass to land. Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery ...

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 Arizona Complex League Reds players Arizona League Indians players Arkansas Travelers players Baseball players from Tennessee Gastonia Ghost Peppers players Gulf Coast Yankees players Gwinnett Stripers players Lake County Captains players Louisville Bats players Lynchburg Hillcats players Major League Baseball pitchers Mississippi Braves players New York Yankees players People from Tullahoma, Tennessee Scottsdale Scorpions players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Seattle Mariners players Tacoma Rainiers players Tampa Yankees players Trenton Thunder players