BRIDGEWATER – A easy look at the wide range of Yankees prime prospect rankings on-line will yield no outcomes for Ben Shields’ identify.
Which will quickly change.
The 25-year-old left-handed beginning pitcher was dominant in his Double-A debut for the Somerset Patriots in entrance of a sellout crowd of seven,106 followers at TD Financial institution Ballpark on Wednesday night time, spinning 5 and a 3rd scoreless innings in a dramatic 5-4 win over the Studying Fightin’ Phils within the final recreation of an abbreviated homestand.
Not dangerous for a man who’s lower than 12 months faraway from signing with the Yankees as a largely unheralded undrafted free agent out of George Mason College.
“I felt fairly good from the beginning,” Shields mentioned. “There have been quite a lot of followers, so you may settle in and do your factor. Arising from (Excessive-A) Hudson Valley, I had an amazing expertise there. I put in quite a lot of onerous work … with quite a lot of followers right here, it’s straightforward to rise up. You’re going to have quite a lot of power and also you’re going to handle it and thank the followers for supporting us.”
Shields allowed simply two hits and two walks whereas placing out 5 Fightin’ Phils batters on Wednesday, utilizing a fastball that sat within the low 90s with a mixture of sliders and curveballs to maintain the opposition off-balance all through the night time. He’d flown largely beneath the radar since signing with the Yankees final July after a comparatively non-descript collegiate profession at each UMass and George Mason, and it stayed that manner when he opened up the 12 months in Hudson Valley as a reliever.
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However the Boston native bought a crack on the beginning rotation with the Renegades in mid-Could and had excelled ever since, profitable South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Month honors for a June through which he went 2-1 with a 2.03 ERA and 37 strikeouts in 26 ⅔ innings of labor, incomes a promotion to Somerset for his debut begin.
With what a whirlwind the final 12 months or so has been, you’ll should excuse him if he hasn’t had a lot time to mirror on the journey.
“Simply sort of taking it day-by-day and outing-by-outing and attempting to be the perfect model of myself every time,” Shields mentioned. “Make the changes I must and transfer ahead. However wash away (the Patriots debut) and transfer ahead. Completely different staff, so give you a distinct plan with whoever’s again there and simply attempt to execute it.”