Dodgers 2018 top prospects: No. 17, Jordan Sheffield

Despite some of the best raw stuff in the Dodgers’ system Jordan Sheffield had an uneven 2017 season that failed to upgrade his prospect status. Sheffield saw a sharp decline in his strikeout rate with no corresponding drop in walk rate, further casting doubt on his ability to remain a starter. Nevertheless, Sheffield received a promotion to Class-A Rancho Cucamonga late in the season, and should face little competition for a rotation spot with Quakes again in 2018.

What Sheffield lacks in stature he makes up for in athleticism. A square built 5’10, Sheffield may not look the part of a power arm until you take in arm speed, which is near the top of the system.

“I’ve been knocked for my height since I’ve been growing up. It’s something that pushes me even harder, to prove not only to myself but to everyone else who’s saying that,” he said at Dodger Stadium in December.

Sheffield’s delivery nearly resembles a stretch offering, but he still employs a high leg kick and three-quarters release that show off his athleticism. Sheffield throws with considerable effort, but he was able to hold his stuff deep into starts as a collegian before the dodgers cut back on his workload.

Even with plus athleticism and mechanics he can repeat, Sheffield still struggles with fastball command. His arm speed helps him generate fastballs that reach the mid-90s and climbed higher at times at Vanderbilt. The pitch has late riding life, especially to the arm side. Sheffield shows more command up in the zone, but his height doesn’t give the pitch the typical plane of a tough upstairs riding fastball. Sheffield’s command can really wane when pitching to the outer edges of the plate.

Sheffield’s best offering is a power downer curveball that flashes easy plus. It looks like the Dodgers may have backed him off it some to focus on his fastball and change, but the pitch shows no rust and he commands the pitch the best of the three.

Sheffield said he refined the pitch with then-Quakes pitching coach Kip Wells.

“Toward the end of the season I started working on a curveball versus the slider. It gives more of a different look,” Sheffield said. “If everything is hard, it’s easier to pick up timing.”

His changeup is quite firm but shows some real promise. Like the fastball, he struggles to command the pitch at times, but the horizontal movement on the pitch gives him a different look from his other two offerings. Athletic arms tend to take to changeups fairly quickly and Sheffield fits the profile.

Despite three pitches that grade at least average while flashing plus, Sheffield has yet to produce to the level of his stuff. He has just a 23% strikeout rate in just over 116 professional innings and has been plagued with walks and being too hittable at times. Sheffield showed far more strikeout prowess in college at Vanderbilt, where he was able to pitch just once a week, but the performance hasn’t translated to more frequent but shorter outings in pro ball.

This isn’t to suggest that the Dodgers try an out-of-the-box approach to deploying Sheffield, but instead hint he may find more success with a higher margin of error in the bullpen. The upper levels of Sheffield’s velocity band and the sharpness of his breaking ball could give him closer upside (in the objective sense, not in comparison to an all-timer like Kenley Jansen) if he’s asked to focus just on keeping the fastball in the zone and high while changing eye levels with the curve low.

Additionally, Sheffield’s repertoire still looks light in comparison to other top undersized starters. Similar sized pitchers Marcus Stroman and Sonny Gray will throw five to six different pitches in a given game. That’s not to suggest Sheffield doesn’t have room for more fastball manipulation (cutting or sinking the pitch more), but his current command issues would like compromise any present effort.

Nevertheless, the current makeup of the organization should allow him to continue starting in High-A, but competition could be coming soon. The 2017 draft class is full of similar arms that will be tried out as starters but eventually could fit as relievers, and a few of those could move quickly. Sheffield carries a first-round pedigree, but an organization as analytically inclined as Los Angeles might give that less weight. Sheffield has enough arm talent to break through in 2018 and realize his mid-rotation, high-strikeout ceiling, but another nondescript year could see him moved to the bullpen to refurbish his prospect status.

“Scouts are scouts,” Sheffield said. “I believe in myself and I believe I can be a starter, and that’s something I will strive for.”