Sheffield makes MLB debut, becomes 173rd Hillcats to make majors

Former Hillcats pitcher was an All-Star with Lynchburg in 2016

By Max Gun

September 22, 2018

Lynchburg, Va. - Former Lynchburg Hillcats pitcher, Justus Sheffield, made his Major League debut for the New York Yankees on Wednesday, September 19, against the Boston Red Sox. He pitched a scoreless ninth inning to preserve a 10-1 win for New York, and induced a game-ending double play.

Lynchburg, Va. - Former Lynchburg Hillcats pitcher, Justus Sheffield, made his Major League debut for the New York Yankees on Wednesday, September 19, against the Boston Red Sox. He pitched a scoreless ninth inning to preserve a 10-1 win for New York, and induced a game-ending double play.

The Tullahoma, Tenn. native was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the 1st Round of the 2014 MLB Draft out of Tullahoma High School. On July 31, 2016, Sheffield was traded to the New York Yankees in a package deal that netted Cleveland Andrew Miller.
Sheffield, 22, wore a Hillcats uniform in 2016, when he started 19 games for Lynchburg. He went 7-5 with a 3.59 ERA and was named a Mid-Season All-Star.
Following the trade to the Yankees, Sheffield pitched for Double-A Trenton and Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre. Last season, he was a Mid-Season All-Star with Trenton and also won two Eastern League Pitcher of the Week awards.
On May 4, after making his first five starts of 2018 with Trenton, he was promoted to Triple-A. The left-hander was 6-4 with a 2.56 ERA in 20 games (15 starts) with Scranton Wilkes-Barre and was selected to the 2018 Futures Game.
Sheffield, who is the Yankees No, 1 overall prospect as ranked by MLB.com, is the 173rd Hillcats player to make his Major League debut since 1995, and is the fifth to make The Show in 2018. He joins former Hillcats Eric Haase and Shane Bieber (Cleveland Indians), Thomas Pannone (Toronto Blue Jays) and Wes Parsons (Atlanta Braves) to debut this year.
Lynchburg's 140-game 2019 schedule begins on Thursday, April 4, and 2019 season tickets are on sale now.
For tickets and more information, visit lynchburg-hillcats.com, the City Stadium box office, or call 434-528-1144.
The Lynchburg Hillcats are the Advanced-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The Hillcats are eight-time Carolina League Champions, having most recently won the Mills Cup Championship in 2017. The Hillcats play their home games at City Stadium, which has been home to Minor League Baseball in Lynchburg since 1963. For more information about the Lynchburg Hillcats, please contact Max Gun at [email protected].