Minor League Updates

[Dr Naysay]

No he hasn't he's been terrible tbh........lets hope he works through it soon.

Thats IP H ER BB SO because the clipper took that off.

[Donn Beach]

and the coaching seems to think he is beginning to come around

Painter said Sheffield has appeared calmer on the mound as the season has continued, and consistency in his command has followed.

“The body control has really started to take shape in the last two to three outings,” Painter said. “He’s able to calm a game down inside, and now he’s able to repeat pitches more consistently. When he gets one that takes off on him, he’s able to get the next pitch in the zone. That’s something we’ve been working on, and it’s starting to show a lot of positives.”

https://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/m ... 72699.html

[Juliooooo]

move Sheffield back?...he has been pitching pretty well lately

I just think it would take some pressure off him and help him gain some confidence in a pitcher friendly environment.

[Dr Naysay]

and the coaching seems to think he is beginning to come around

Painter said Sheffield has appeared calmer on the mound as the season has continued, and consistency in his command has followed.

“The body control has really started to take shape in the last two to three outings,” Painter said. “He’s able to calm a game down inside, and now he’s able to repeat pitches more consistently. When he gets one that takes off on him, he’s able to get the next pitch in the zone. That’s something we’ve been working on, and it’s starting to show a lot of positives.”

https://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/m ... 72699.html

You mean the article written 20 days ago? Yeah his command in his 3 starts since then seem brilliant Don if you like 10 walks in your last 5 innings whilst getting hooked early.

[D-train]

move Sheffield back?...he has been pitching pretty well lately

I just think it would take some pressure off him and help him gain some confidence in a pitcher friendly environment.

I think its a good idea.

[AT Funchal-Madeira]

and the coaching seems to think he is beginning to come around

Painter said Sheffield has appeared calmer on the mound as the season has continued, and consistency in his command has followed.

“The body control has really started to take shape in the last two to three outings,” Painter said. “He’s able to calm a game down inside, and now he’s able to repeat pitches more consistently. When he gets one that takes off on him, he’s able to get the next pitch in the zone. That’s something we’ve been working on, and it’s starting to show a lot of positives.”

https://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/m ... 72699.html

You mean the article written 20 days ago? Yeah his command in his 3 starts since then seem brilliant Don if you like 10 walks in your last 5 innings whilst getting hooked early.

Yes, Donn Beach.... armchair analyst who knows nothing.but has nothing to do in his basement but scour the internet.... you are like herpes, Donn... almost impossible to get rid of...

[D-train]

Two local boys on the A Sox squad

https://www.heraldnet.com/sports/pair-o ... northwest/

[rockycola]

JD still scouring dung heaps and Indy Leagues and yesterday unearthed Nick Duron from the Southern Illinois Miners in the Independent Frontier League. The 6'4", 190 # was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the 31st round of the 2015 MLB June Amateur Draft from Clark College (Vancouver, WA).
He throws heat, is a strikeout pitcher (relief) and has had TJ surgery, missing all of 2016. He's been assigned to the Modesto Nuts and at just 23 years old he's an unpolished gem, maybe . With the Miners, in 10 games he was pitching very well, but, in an Indy league.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/regi ... ron-000nic

PROFILE: (August 16, 2017)

Physical Description: Muscular, athletic frame. Looks the part. Listed at 6-foot-4, 190 pounds. Hasn’t lost any of his football athleticism.

Mechanics: Throws from a three-quarters arm slot. Live arm. Starts with a wide base. Delivery is controlled with some effort including a stab behind and short, quick, arm action forward. Very quick arm, so much, that it often gets out of sync with the rest of his delivery. Has a tendency to miss to his glove side when his arm gets out ahead of his body, and struggles to locate on the inner half of the plate to right-handed hitters.

Fastball: 92-95 mph. Tops out at 98 mph. Command and control are a work in progress. Straight, lacks life. Doesn’t miss bats like you’d expect of someone with his velocity. Gives up a lot of hard contact due to lack of fastball command. Pitch needs refinement, but could develop into a plus offering.

Slider: 83-88 mph. At its best will show power break with depth. Can bury down and out of the zone when ahead in the count to miss bats. At the lower end of the velocity range. Pitch is on the loose side and lacks bite. Release point varies. Will flash anywhere from below-average to plus potential depending on the game scouted.

Changeup: 83-85 mph. Throws with deceptive arm speed. Some feel. Willing to use in any count and will show drop. Average to better potential.

Career Notes: Signed to play football at Western Oregon before enrolling at Clark and committing to baseball. Missed the entire 2016 season due to Tommy John surgery.

Summation: Wide gap between where he is at presently and his ceiling. Low floor - could never make it out of A-Ball. Has the ceiling of a starter, but likely better suited in a bullpen role depending on how his fastball command develops and consistency with secondary pitches. Has the early makings of a three pitch mix and strong, athletic pitchers frame. Development will be slow, but could rise up the system rankings very quickly if things click.

http://soxprospects.com/players/duron-nick.htm

https://www.mlb.com/player/nick-duron-6 ... &year=2019

[rockycola]

This is a cool, cool story:

BELLINGHAM ­— Austin Shenton predicted it in first grade. He even wrote it down with pencil and paper. At 5 years old, he knew that one day he would be a Seattle Mariner.

Fast forward 16 years and 21-year-old Shenton is watching the 2019 MLB draft at his parents’ house in Bellingham on May 4, 2019. His cell phone rings late in the fourth round. It’s his scouting adviser, Kent Mathis from Collective Artisan Agency.

Mathis tells Shenton that he’s found him a home. The team he’s been a fan of since he was 3 years old is planning to draft him in the fifth round with the No. 156 pick in the 2019 MLB draft.

The Seattle Mariners.

Shenton, a Bellingham native and 2016 Bellingham High School grad, played the last two seasons collegiately as a star third baseman for Florida International University, where he started all but two games. He led the team in batting average (.330), RBIs (47) and hits (46) in 2019. He also had the fifth-longest hitting streak in the nation at 22 games.

A 6-foot, 200-pound, left-handed hitting machine, Shenton has carved his way through opposing pitchers ever since he switched his focus from pitching to hitting at age 12. He swung the bat every single day during his teenage years.

https://www.lyndentribune.com/sports/dr ... oh1xJtsHtc

[Donn Beach]

and the coaching seems to think he is beginning to come around

Painter said Sheffield has appeared calmer on the mound as the season has continued, and consistency in his command has followed.

“The body control has really started to take shape in the last two to three outings,” Painter said. “He’s able to calm a game down inside, and now he’s able to repeat pitches more consistently. When he gets one that takes off on him, he’s able to get the next pitch in the zone. That’s something we’ve been working on, and it’s starting to show a lot of positives.”

https://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/m ... 72699.html

You mean the article written 20 days ago? Yeah his command in his 3 starts since then seem brilliant Don if you like 10 walks in your last 5 innings whilst getting hooked early.

he came unglued again?...oh well.

Here is something more recent, in fact yesterday...

Sheffield says he hasn’t lost his fastball, hasn’t lost the feel for his above-average slider, and it’s clear he hasn’t lost confidence.

He did acknowledge that he has lost focus, and his way, in recent starts.

“The situation I’m in right now — obviously, I’m trying to get back to the big leagues, but that can’t be on my mind,” he said. “It’ll happen when it’ll happen. The biggest thing for me right now is just get better, personally.”

One talent evaluator who has scouted Sheffield on multiple occasions told The Times that Sheffield’s delivery has been “out of sync” — that the left-hander has a tendency to rush forward with his windup.

“There are lots to get through with (Sheffield),” the scout said, “but none of it is unfixable.”

Sheffield said he’s been watching video of his past outings to find some answers. There are “minor” things he’s found, but the overarching issues, he said, aren’t physical.

“It’s not the stuff, which is crazy. My arm feels great. My stuff’s been great,” he said. “It’s just throwing it over the zone, trusting the stuff and letting the hitters get themselves out. You can’t be a starting pitcher in any league going three innings. I’ve just got to get back to the basics, and that’s pounding the zone, getting first-pitch strikes and getting ahead.”

Andy McKay, the Mariners’ director of player development, said he was encouraged by Sheffield’s strong start against Fresno on May 22 (one run and one walk in seven innings), and encouraged by the 23-year-old’s work ethic to turn things around.

“My confidence in Justus has not wavered a bit, because I know his confidence has not wavered a bit,” McKay said. “That’s the mark of someone who’s going to be great, and that’s what I respect about the way Justus has gone about this.”

here, this will scare you, comparisons to James Paxton...

McKay was quick to point out that it wasn’t that long ago that another prized left-hander in the Mariners’ system, James Paxton, had several up-and-down seasons in Triple-A before eventually sticking in the majors.

https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/mar ... ro-career/