Tag Archives: Justus Sheffield

TRIBE ADDS BIG ARM AND RIGHT HANDED BAT AT TRADE DEADLINE

Posted: Aug 1, 2016 by . Filed under Blog Posts, Feature Articles | 27 Comments

The Cleveland Indians were one of the most active teams heading into the Major League Baseball trade deadline, and while one trade failed (Brewers catcher Jonathan Lucroy vetoed a trade to the Tribe), the Wahoo Warriors did acquire left-handed closer Andrew Miller from the Yankees and outfielder Brandon Guyer from the Tamp Bay Rays.

A MLB Baseball on Ground

Here are the official press releases on both trades from the Cleveland Indians.

INDIANS ACQUIRE LHP ANDREW MILLER

FROM THE NEW YORK YANKEES 

CLEVELAND, OH – The Cleveland Indians today acquired LHP ANDREW MILLER from the New York Yankees in exchange for RHP J.P. FEYEREISEN, OF CLINT FRAZIER, RHP BEN HELLER and LHP JUSTUS SHEFFIELD.

Miller, 31, has gone 6-1 with 9 saves and a 1.39 ERA in 44 relief outings in 2016 for the New York Yankees (45.1IP, 28H, 8R/7ER, 7BB, 77SO, .174AVG). He currently owns the 6th-lowest relief ERA in the American League while his .174 average against is also the 6th-lowest relief mark in the A.L.  He owns an 11:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, is averaging 15.3 strikeouts per 9.0IP and is 2nd in the league with 77 relief strikeouts. He has allowed runs in just 8 of 44 outings and has not allowed multiple runs in an appearance this season.

Miller owns a career relief ERA of 2.72 (274.2IP, 180H, 83ER, 412SO, .183AVG) in 297 career appearances with the Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins, Boston Red Sox, Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees. He was Detroit’s first round pick (6th overall) in the 2006 draft out of the University of North Carolina. He is currently signed thru the 2018 season.  His combined relief ERA of 1.98 over the last 5 seasons since 2013 (44ER/200.0IP, .168AVG) is the 7th-lowest mark in Major League Baseball over the span.

 

INDIANS ACQUIRE OF BRANDON GUYER

FROM THE TAMPA BAY RAYS

CLEVELAND, OH – The Cleveland Indians today acquired OF BRANDON GUYER from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for OF NATHAN LUKES and RHP JHONLEIDER SALINAS.

Guyer, 30, has spent the entire season to date with the Tampa Bay Rays, hitting .241 (51-212) with 12 doubles, 1 triple, 7 home runs and 18 RBI in 63 games. He has appeared in 25 games in left field, 18 games in center field and 12 games in right field this season after making at least 15 starts at all three positions last season for the Rays.  The Herndon, VA native spent most of June on the disabled list with a left hamstring strain and currently leads the Majors with 23 hit by pitches. The right-handed hitting outfielder is currently hitting .344 (22-64) off left-handed pitching this year with 4 2B, 4 HR, 9 RBI and a 1.082 OPS.

The University of Virginia alum began his professional career in 2007 after being selected by the Chicago Cubs in the fifth round of the First-Year Player Draft.  He was acquired by Tampa Bay along with Chris Archer in January 2011 in a seven-player deal that sent RHP Matt Garza to the Cubs. He is under club control thru the 2018 season currently.

Juan Uribe 2

 

The Indians today also designated third baseman Juan Uribe for assignment.

2014 CLEVELAND INDIANS DAY 1 MLB DRAFT PICKS

Posted: Jun 6, 2014 by . Filed under Blog Posts | 1 Comment

Here are the Indians first four picks in the 2014 MLB Draft with information courtesy of the Tribe on all four kids that Chris Antonetti and his staff selected.

Also posted is a report from ESPN.com’s baseball writer Keith Law with his thoughts on how the Indians did with their picks on Day 1.

 

1st round – Pick #21 – OF – BRADLEY ZIMMER

A 6’5”, 205-pound outfielder, hit .368 with 10 doubles, 7 triples, 7 home runs and 31 RBI for the University of San Francisco Dons as a junior during the 2014 season. For his size, he is not known for his power at this time, but is a very good athlete.

 

1st Round – Pick #31 – LHP – JUSTUS SHEFFIELD

The selection was compensation for the free agent signing of RHP UBALDO JIMENEZ by the Baltimore Orioles.

Sheffield, 18, recently completed his senior season at Tullahoma (TN) High School, going 10-0 with a 0.34 ERA (3 ER/61.2 IP) and 131 strikeouts. On Wednesday, the 6-for-1, 180-pound southpaw became the first high school athlete from the state of Tennessee to win a Gatorade National Player of the Year Award after leading his Wildcats team to a third straight district championship and a second round appearance in the Tennessee state playoffs. Past pitching recipients of the award include Zack Greinke (’02), Clayton Kershaw (’06) and Rick Porcello (’07), while Cleveland’s 2013 first round selection (5th overall), OF Clint Frazier, earned the distinction last year. His fast ball tops out around 94 mph.

MLB Ball at Progressive Field

Competitive Balance Round A – Pick #38 –  OF – MIKE PAPI

Papi, 21, is a junior outfielder for the University of Virginia where he has hit .297 (62-209) this season with 9 doubles, 11 home runs, 51 RBI and 51 runs scored in 60 games for the Cavaliers.  Virginia is taking on Maryland this weekend in the NCAA Super Regional. The Tunkhannock, PA native is a 6-3 outfield/first baseman with checks in at 6-3, 210 pounds.  Currently owns a career 3-year average of .324 (159-491) at UVA with 32 2B, 19HR & 125RBI in 150 games.

 

2nd Round – Pick #61 – RHP – Grant Hockin –  Damien HS (Calif.)

18-year-old righty from Damien High School in La Verne, California, where he pitched 80 innings this season, with a 1.49 ERA, with 99 strikeouts and only 17 walks. He is listed at 6’3″, 195 pounds. He has committed to UCLA, so we’ll see if he heads to college, or if the Indians offer him enough cash to jump to the pros.

 

ESPN.com Baseball Writer  –  Keith Law

The new slotting system in baseball has made Day 1 analysis more difficult, as many teams approach the draft with a more holistic, top-down approach designed to spread money around to specific picks. With that in mind, here are some preliminary thoughts on eight teams’ Day 1 selections: four I really liked, four I didn’t really get. You can also find my list of the 10 best players available at the bottom. 

I’ll have team-by-team reports after Day 2, with AL reports on Saturday and NL reports on Monday. 

The approved list: Four teams I thought got good value 

The Cleveland Indians had my favorite Day 1 batch of picks, landing four players I had in the top 50. They took Brad Zimmer, one of the best college bats in the draft class, who slid to 21; grabbed and have already signedJustus Sheffield, an advanced prep lefty from Tennessee whom area scouts loved, at 31; and took Mike Papi, one of the most patient, advanced hitters in the college crop and a first baseman with emerging power and the tools to play right field, at 38.