Chandler Shepherd

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Chandler Shepherd
Boston Red Sox
Relief pitcher
Born: (1992-08-25) August 25, 1992 (age 31)
Louisa, Kentucky
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

James Chandler Shepherd (born August 25, 1992) is a professional relief pitcher who plays in the Boston Red Sox Minor League Baseball system. Listed at 6' 3", 185 lb., he bats and throws right handed.[1]

A three-year player at the University of Kentucky from 2012–2014,[2] Shepherd was selected by the Red Sox in the 13th round of the 2014 MLB Draft out of Kentucky.[1] He uses a high three-quarters arm slot to stay on top of his pitches and drive them down in the strike zone, complementing his 91-93 mph fastball, which tops out at 95 mh, with a sharp 10-to-4 slider that sat mostly 81-84 mph and a mid-80s changeup.[3]

College career

As a junior, Shepherd was sidelined by a forearm laceration that forced him to miss three weeks,[2] but he returned to a relief role in nine games, following with nine starts. He finished with a 3-1 record, a 3.83 earned run average and one save, winning Baseball America honors as the top prospect in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League,[2] where also was named pitcher of the year and made the PGCBL first team and the Perfect Game USA first team as a member of the Amsterdam Mohawks [2]

As a sophomore, he was dominant as a reliever, appearing in 26 games with one start, posting a 2.77 ERA and a 5-0 record over 55⅓ innings of work. He finished 3-0 with a 0.44 ERA over his last 11 appearances to being selected to the 2013 Cape Cod League All-Star team, and also named No. 46 prospect in the league.[2]

In his senior year, Shepherd rated among the 2014 Baseball America Preseason NCAA Top-100 Players (No. 70). He then made 16 pitching appearances, ending with a 5-5 record and a 3.66 ERA in 76⅓ innings, including nine starts and one saved game.[2]

Professional career

Shepherd started his professional career in 2014 at short-season A-level Lowell Spinners, where he was 4-3 with a 4.05 ERA in 16 games, working mostly as a long reliever in 33⅓ innings.[1] He was promoted to low-a Greenville Drive in 2015, and he excelled with a 3-0 record, a 1.23 ERA and one save in 14⅔ innings.[1] But Shepherd spent much of the year in high Class A with the Salem Red Sox, posting a 0-2 record with a 3.61 ERA and six saves in 28 games, including a 6.57 strikeout-to-walk ratio (46-to-7) in 52⅓ innings.[1] Later in the year, he also pitched well in the Arizona Fall League with the Scottsdale Scorpions, appearing in 11 games, while going 1-1 with a 3.97 ERA and one save in 11⅓ innings. Overall, he went 4-3 with a 3.22 ERA and eight saves in 78⅓ innings to complete three different levels in his first full professional season.[1]

Shepherd opened 2016 at Double-A Portland Sea Dogs, where he was 1-1 with a 1.80 ERA and seven saves in 14 appearances, including a 0.80 walks plus hits per inning pitched and .140 batting average against, while striking out 39 and walking 10 in 30.0 innings.[1] He then gained a promotion to Triple-A Pawtucket Red Sox in the month of June.[4] In addition, from May 2 to June 29 he hurled a 23⅓ scoreless-inning streak between the two stints.[5] Shepherd finished 2016 with a 2-3 record and a 2.81 ERA.[6]

Shepherd is currently rated as the Red Sox's No. 19 prospect, according to MLB.com.[7]

See also

Sources

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Chandler Shepherd – MiLB Register Statistics and History. Baseball Reference. Retrieved on June 30, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Chandler Shepherd College Career. University of Kentucky Website Retrieved on June 30, 2016.
  3. ^ Chandler Shepherd Page. SoxProspects.com. Retrieved on June 30, 2016.
  4. ^ Reliever Chandler Shepherd promoted to Pawtucket. MassLive.com. Retrieved on June 30, 2016.
  5. ^ Chandler Shepherd – 2016 Statistics Summary. MiLB.com. Retrieved on July 1, 2016.
  6. ^ http://www.milb.com/player/index.jsp?player_id=605469#/career/R/pitching/2016/ALL
  7. ^ 2016 MLB Prospects Watch – Boston Red Sox Top 30 Prospects list midseason update. MLB.com. Retrieved on July 19, 2016.

External links

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