2021 Mariners Justus Sheffield fantasy baseball advice

The Seattle Mariners have a handful of young pitchers that provide excitement for years to come for fans. Are any of them worth drafting? Like Justus Sheffield?

We all know that, as of 2021 projections and expert expectations at least, the Seattle Mariners aren’t supposed to be anything special. In all likelihood, they are a couple of years away from competing. This goes hand in hand with having a fair amount of top-level fantasy baseball players.

Justus Sheffield is toeing the line on both. Not only is he young and talented, but he is on the edge of becoming very fantasy relevant. As I’ve done before, let’s take a look at his rankings over at Fantasy Pros.

Justus Sheffield fantasy baseball advice and potential fantasy impact

It’s a bit funny for anyone who is a Seattle Mariners fan when you realize that we traded away James Paxton in order to get Justus Sheffield. Now, they are pitching in the same rotation. We’ve already taken a look at Marco Gonzalez at the top of the rotation, but what about Justus Sheffield?

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Where is Justus Sheffield ranked?

Sheffield comes in at 280 overall. A solid player to have on your team, but we are talking about fantasy here. Is 280 good enough?

Where is Justus Sheffield ranked amongst the starting pitchers?

There are plenty of good starting pitchers out there in the world of fantasy baseball. Sheffield is ranked down at 83rd. This may sound low, but it puts him nearly right in the center as a number three for a team. If there are 160 starting pitchers or so, then he nearly falls right in the middle.

Who is going to get drafted around Justus Sheffield?

There are a few pitchers right around Sheffield that you should keep an eye out for during your draft, if it gets that far. When you start seeing the likes of Matthew Boyd, Yusei Kikuchi, and Drew Smyly that’s a good sign to re-focus on Sheffield.

Should I draft Justus Sheffield for my fantasy baseball team?

The answer here lies not in where you think that the Seattle Mariners are going to fall this year, but whether you believe if Sheffield is going to be the type of pitcher that many scouts thought he was going to be a few years ago, both in his time with the Yankees, and in the trade that brought him over to the Seattle Mariners.

He was the 80th ranked prospect in 2017, and up to 31st in 2018, and the 4th best LHP prospect. We are only a few years removed from that ranking.

Sheffield definitely has the potential to turn into a top pitcher, somewhere in the 20-40 ranking depending on how you feel about his realistic ceiling. Jose Berrios, Sonny Gray, Joe Musgrove, and Dylan Bundy would all fall within a reasonable range.

If you believe in Sheffield, then you should definitely take him, and try and get him in the 50-60 range for pitchers. If you start seeing Tyler Mahle, Mike Soroka, and Andrew Heaney go off the board, then pull the trigger on Sheffield. If you are skeptical, then hold off and go with any of the other guys that are mentioned in this article.

Personally, I would do it. I expect a FIP in the 3.50-3.75 range, around 9.0 K/9, 1.4 WHIP, and 150 innings as part of the Seattle Mariners six-man rotation. Hopefully, Justus Sheffield is a strong part of your fantasy rotation this year.