Sheff may get call...from pen

Justus Sheffield is clearly close to getting the call.

The Yankees’ top pitching prospect is being prepared for his major-league debut while still with Triple-A Scranton, but it probably won’t come the way he thought it would.

The 22-year-old lefty is projected to be a majorleague starter in the future, but Tuesday night the Yankees had him start working out of the bullpen. Aaron Boone told reporters they expect to have him in the bigleague pen down the stretch.

Having Sheffield go through the learning process in the minor leagues is a smart move, according to one pitching coach. It’s not a simple transition.

“It’s still pitching,” said one big-league pitching coach, who didn’t want to be identified talking about another organization’s prospect, “but it is different. He has to learn how to be ready to pitch every day, how to get ready quicker, how to let his arm bounce back and get to know how his arm will feel in this role. It takes a little while.”

With Aroldis Chapman going on the disabled list, the Yankees’ bullpen could use another live arm. In his debut as a reliever Tuesday night, Sheffield pitched a scoreless inning before giving up a run in his second inning of work.

A scout who has seen Sheffield this season thinks his stuff will work fine out of the bullpen.

“His fastball ranges from 91 to 95 miles an hour and sits about 95,” the scout said. “He has a sharp slider and the makings of a plus change-up.

“My impressions, even going back to last year, is that he always seems to have one inning where he comes out of his delivery. It looks like he gets too amped up and the plate starts moving on him (he loses command) and his pitches get flat and that’s where the bulk of his walks come from,” the scout continued. “Other than that, he’s been reliable and fairly dominant. He should make the transition to the pen fine. I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some growing pains, but he could have a really big heater and slider in short stints. It’ll be interesting.”

Through 22 games this season, Sheffield is 6-6 with a 2.52 ERA pitching for teams in both Triple-A and Double-A. He has issued 50 walks in 110.2 innings pitched and struck out 118.