Yankees’ prospect stunned by slurs

“Honestly I couldn’t believe it,” began Justus Sheffield, before correcting himself. “I could believe it, but then I couldn’t.”

The hard-throwing prospect, whom the Yankees received from Cleveland in last year’s Andrew Miller trade, was stunned at the brazen racism Adam Jones encountered Monday, when he said he was the target of slurs by Boston fans.

For Sheffield, who is black, the incident brought back memories of a different time and different place. The left-hander grew up in Tennessee, where he experienced a more open racism than he has found as a professional.

“I have in my lifetime gone through instances where racial slurs have been thrown around,” said Sheffield, who’s thriving at Double-A Trenton. “Growing up, there were instances where parents, who grew up in that era, didn’t appreciate their daughter dating a colored [person], any type of ethnicity person. I definitely kind of grew up in that type of environment, which is pretty crazy now, being here, that we have to discuss this and go through that.”

CC Sabathia said he had never been called the N-word as a professional anywhere but at Fenway Park. Sheffield said while he never has had the word hurled at him by a fan, he has found it around baseball.

“There’s been instances where I’ve heard the word thrown around more freely. And I’ve nipped it in the bud right then and there,” Sheffield said.

On the mound, Sheffield has been solid, if not dominant. In five games started, Sheffield has ridden mid-90s heat and an improving changeup to a 3.28 ERA. He has struck out 25 in 24 2/3 innings, and hitters are batting .250 off of him. But the longest Sheffield, who turns 21 next week, has lasted in a game is six innings, and his goal is to lengthen his arm.

“Every time I’m out there I’m shooting for nine,” Sheffield said.

Yankees top prospect Gleyber Torres rejoined Sheffield and his teammates with Trenton on April 28 after sitting out 10 days with a swollen rotator cuff. He did not show rust in his first week back, going 10-for-26 (.385) with a home run and six RBIs.

Outfielder Brandon Nimmo joined the Mets’ Triple-A team in Las Vegas on Tuesday after suffering a strained hamstring in the World Baseball Classic. In his first three games, Nimmo went 0-for-13 with three strikeouts.