Uh, oh! Yankees top pitching prospect Justus Sheffield hurt, pulled from start

Yankees top pitching prospect Justus Sheffield was pulled from his start at Triple-A on Friday night.

Justus Sheffield was pulled because of shoulder stiffness. He didn’t want to come out but was pulled for precautionary reasons. He thinks he’ll be fine moving forward. #Yankees

— DJ Eberle (@ByDJEberle) May 12, 2018

Sheffield, a 21-year-old lefty, is the Yankees’ third-best prospect and the game’s 41st best prospect, according to Baseball Reference.

It was just his second start at Triple-A. His first start didn’t go so well — 4 2/3 innings and two runs with six strikeouts and four walks.

At Double-A Trenton, Sheffield went 1-2 with a 2.89 ERA in five starts.

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Here’s what Yankees manager Aaron Boone said about Sheffield on April 25:

“Obviously someone that we think really highly of. I think, as I talked even in spring, a guy that I have expectations for.

“I think he’s going to be a good pitcher for us at some point. So, really encouraging him to see him. He struggled a little bit in spring training. See him now, I think back to back starts where he’s been strong, striking guys out, pounding the strike zone, good to see him off on a good note and continue to work to eventually get to us.”

Sheffield didn’t put up good numbers in camp but continually got praise from Boone. In three outings, Sheffield gave up seven runs (11.81 ERA) in 4 2/3 innings.

Brendan Kuty may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.