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Ben Shields dominant in Yankees Double-A debut

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4 months ago

July 5, 2024

Ben Shields dominant in Yankees Double-A debut

BRIDGEWATER – A easy look at the wide range of Yankees prime prospect rankings on-line will yield no outcomes for Ben Shields’ title.

That 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 sport 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 stated. “There have been a variety of followers, so you’ll be able to settle in and do your factor. Developing from (Excessive-A) Hudson Valley, I had an incredible expertise there. I put in a variety of onerous work … with a variety of followers right here, it’s simple to rise up. You’re going to have a variety of power and also you’re going to maintain 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 underneath 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 method when he opened up the 12 months in Hudson Valley as a reliever.

Extra:Yankees’ Spencer Jones catches hearth after gradual begin at Double-A, chosen to Futures Sport

However the Boston native obtained a crack on the beginning rotation with the Renegades in mid-Could and had excelled ever since, successful 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.