What are the Mariners seeing from Justus Sheffield this season? Confidence and consistency
Mariners rookie Justus Sheffield “absolutely knows who he is” on the mound right now — and that is what excites manager Scott Servais most about his young left-hander.
“Sheff continues to add on to his breakout season here,” Servais said on a video call following Sheffield’s second consecutive road win Saturday night in San Diego. “Awesome job by him. ... I can’t say enough about the growth he’s had, the strides he’s taken here moving forward, and it’s now the confidence, you see it every time he takes the hill he’s expecting to go deep in the ballgame and really give us a chance to win.”
The 24-year-old, in his first full season in the majors, made his ninth start in Saturday’s win over the Padres, tossing six quality innings against one of baseball’s most daunting lineups. He calmed a pitch count that was climbing early. He confidently worked around traffic. When he felt the game was speeding up, he took a step back, took a breath, and went right back to attacking hitters.
When his work was finished, and the Mariners wrapped up a 4-1 win, Sheffield collected his fourth victory of the season, lowered his ERA to 3.75 and posted his sixth quality start in his past seven outings. Dating back to his third start of the season on Aug. 9, he’s pitched at least six innings while allowing two runs or fewer six times.
“We loved the way Sheff looked in spring training and summer camp as we were building towards finally getting on the field,” Servais said. “But, you never know how it’s going to play out. I just can’t say enough about his ability and his maturity and the step forward he’s taken in being able to control his emotions.”
Sheffield, a first-round pick out of high school by Cleveland in 2014, has made incredible strides since the Mariners acquired him as a 22-year-old from the Yankees during the 2018 offseason.
Though he had pitched some games in relief in New York’s organization, the Mariners still saw Sheffield’s potential as a future member of their big league rotation, and started him with Triple-A Tacoma last season. He labored through 13 appearances (12 starts) there, often struggling with command with a 48-41 strikeout-to-walk ratio, and his ERA soared to 6.87 across 55 innings before he was reassigned to Double-A Arkansas.
He regrouped there, and was excellent in 12 starts with the Travelers with a 2.19 ERA in 78 innings and 85 strikeouts to 18 walks. It was enough to earn him a late summer promotion to Seattle, where he made seven starts and showed flashes of what his future could hold.
Sheffield’s first two starts as a member of Seattle’s six-man rotation this season were underwhelming — he allowed four runs in each — but he’s been solid for two months since.
Saturday night’s win was a fitting example of how much he’s developed in two seasons with Seattle, and how he’s evolved into a reliable starter each turn, who can work his way through even the toughest lineups. The Padres put runners on base in four of Sheffield’s six innings. He allowed just one run, stranded five base runners, picked off two more, and didn’t let the two walks or six hits he allowed sway his outing.
“In that third inning, I think I was moving a little bit too fast,” Sheffield said. “Things kind of sped up on me. I could tell that I was out there breathing kind of heavy. So, just being able to realize that, and step back, and get back in tune and execute, that’s pretty much how tonight went.”
Being able to make necessary in-game adjustments is something the Mariners are starting to see from Sheffield regularly.
“I remember last year, certain times the game would get away from him, and he’d start trying too hard, and tonight was a perfect example of just backing off,” Servais said. “He was starting to lose his fastball command in the third inning. He was trying to go harder, and we talked about it in the dugout. He made the adjustment, and that’s really a true sign of maturity, and a guy that’s got a chance to be really good for a long time. So, really excited about him and his future and how it plays for us going forward.”
Sheffield said after his seven-inning start against the Diamondbacks last week — the first road win of his young career — he’s been learning week-to-week this season about who he is against big league hitters. His identity as a major league pitcher is becoming clearer with each start.
“This year has been a big has been a big year for me as far as figuring myself out, figuring out where I stand,” Sheffield said. “I’m not really trying to be the overpowering pitcher that I was coming up in the minors — you know, fastball-slider dominant. I’m really just trying to get out there and just execute. That’s my main goal is just get out there and execute, and let the defense work behind me, and just attack.
“I’m starting to learn a little bit more about myself. I still feel like there’s a lot of work to be done, but as far as where we are right now, I’m noticing a lot more about what I can do out there.”
Sheffield maps out to get one more regular season start, likely during Seattle’s final four-game series against the A’s in Oakland next week.
INJURY UPDATES
Servais gave updates on a handful of players Saturday afternoon that the Mariners do not expect to see on the field during the final eight games of the regular season.
▪ Utility player Sam Haggerty is still rehabbing a left forearm strain at the alternate site in Tacoma, but is unlikely to return before the regular season wraps up. He was hitting .260/.315/.400 for the Mariners in 13 games before landing on the IL on Sept. 7, and gave the club another versatile infield-outfield option, appearing mostly in left field.
▪ Tom Murphy was Seattle’s projected Opening Day catcher before taking two foul balls off the instep of his left foot during summer camp, resulting in a fracture. He was ruled out to open the season with the Mariners, and never made it back to the big league club. He was eventually shut down for the season and has returned home to New York.
▪ Shed Long Jr. continues to seek opinions on how to proceed with a stress fracture in his right shin, including the possibility of surgery. The 25-year-old was named the Mariners’ every day second baseman prior to the season, but his bat never really warmed up, and he hit .171/.242/.291 through 34 games. He was expected to move into more of a utility role when Seattle acquired Ty France from the Padres, and Dylan Moore, a consistent bat this season, returned from a short IL stint. Long was placed on the IL on Sept. 11, a few weeks after a foul ball to his shin area aggravated the discomfort he’d dealt with since spring camp.
▪ Outfielder Mitch Haniger, who hasn’t played in a game since June 2019, hasn’t resumed baseball activity yet, Servais said, but is still working out in the Seattle area and is making progress as he continues to recover from multiple surgeries that have caused him to miss nearly 150 games the past two seasons.
“I know Mitch is feeling better about his workouts,” Servais said. “He’s really getting his strength back. He’s not quite ready to go on the baseball activity yet, but I know he’s made significant strides here in the last couple weeks.”
Haniger was an All-Star for Seattle his last full season in 2018, hitting .285/.366/.493 in 157 games. He will be 30 when the club reports to camp in Arizona next spring, but if he is healthy, he would still be the Mariners’ presumed starter in right field.
SHORT HOPS
Mariners top prospect Julio Rodriguez, who fractured his left wrist during summer camp midway through July, has started taking swings again. The 19-year-old posted a video to his Twitter account Saturday from the cages at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma showing his progress. “Back on track,” he wrote. … Former Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon, who was the bench coach for the Tigers this season, took over as Detroit’s manager for the rest of the season Saturday after Ron Gardenhire abruptly announced his retirement. The Tigers went on to beat Cleveland, 5-2, on Saturday, giving McClendon his 500th win as a manager.
