Yankees’ Justus Sheffield gets the call … for 2018 Futures Game

Yankees left-hander Justus Sheffield is one of the club’s top pitching prospects. The 22-year-old will head to Nationals Park in Washington, DC on Sunday, July 15, 2018 (7/1/5/18) to pitch in the 2018 Futures Game, which opens the All-Star festivities. Sheffield could soon find himself in the Yankees’ starting rotation after dominating for the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

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Justus Sheffield, one of the Yankees‘ top pitching prospects, will be a part of the All-Star break festivities at Nationals Park in Washington, DC.

Bobby Mitchell, manager for the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, said Thursday Sheffield will pitch in the Futures Game on July 15, according to the New York Daily News.

Sheffield started the season at Double-A Trenton, going 1-2 with a 2.25 ERA in five starts.

He’s pitched in 10 games for Triple-A Scranton, making nine starts, and going 2-3 with a 2.61 ERA.

Sheffield last pitched on Monday, going a season-high seven innings for the RailRiders, giving up one run on three hits. He struck out six batters and walked three hitters in the 6-2 win over the Buffalo Bisons.

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The Futures Game puts prospects from the United States up against prospects from other countries and serves as the first event in the All-Star celebration.

The Home Run Derby will follow on Monday, July 16th, with the Midsummer Classic on Tuesday, July 17th.

Sheffield’s name was mentioned as a possible rotation replacement for Jordan Montgomery when his torn ulnar collateral ligament was diagnosed in June, ending his 2018 season.

At the time, Mitchell said the 22-year-old southpaw wasn’t “far off” from being big-league ready, but that Sheffield still had some work to do at Triple-A.

Instead, the Yankees turned to Domingo German, who has struggled at times as a starter. Inconsistencies by German and Sonny Gray, when combined with the injuries to Montgomery and Masahiro Tanaka, have general manager Brian Cashman shopping for a starting pitcher before the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline.

Of course, if Cashman can’t put together a deal for someone like Texas Rangers left-hander Cole Hamels or Toronto Blue Jays’ left-hander J.A. Happ, he could always look down on the farm and decide Sheffield is ready for his shot in the majors.

Mike Rosenstein may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @rosenstein73. Find NJ.com on Facebook.