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Six years into his minor league career, left-handed relief pitcher Ryan Sherriff has quietly put together the best season of his professional career -- at the minor league's highest level with the Triple-A Memphis Redbirds. In response to the big-league promotion of Sam Tuivailala, Sherriff was rewarded for his first-half performance with a nomination to the Pacific Coast League All-Star team. The game took place last night, and Sherriff retired the only batter he faced via groundout.
Player Profile
- Throws: Left
- Height: 6'1"
- Weight: 185 pounds
- Born: May 25, 1990 (26 years old)
- College: West Los Angeles College (Culver City, CA)
- How Acquired: 28th round of 2011 MLB Draft
2016 Triple-A Statistics
G | IP | K% | BB% | AVG | GB% | ERA | FIP |
32 | 45.0 | 19.2% | 8.5% | .192 | 63% | 2.20 | 3.82 |
Given his repertoire (you'll read about it below), Sherriff strikes out hitters more frequently than you'd think. That being said, he is notorious for inducing ground balls, and his 63% ground ball rate (via Baseball Prospectus) would rank just outside the top five of MLB relief pitchers at present, and right behind Matt Bowman's 63.8%. Of note, per Sherriff's player card on MiLB.com, left-handed hitters have mustered only a .121 batting average against him this season.
Q&A
Viva El Birdos: You appear to have really turned a corner this season -- making the Triple-A All-Star team -- does one adjustment stand out to you or is it more just a culmination of development?
Ryan Sherriff: The only thing I have done differently this year is drop my arm angle. I did not think it would bring me this much success. I just knew I needed to try something new.
VEB: Despite being all the way up in Triple-A, not everyone has seen you pitch just yet, thus can you describe your repertoire?
RS: Sinker, sinker, sinker.
VEB: This is probably a dumb question, then, but two three on, two out, two strikes, with the bases loaded and a right-handed hitter at the plate, which pitch do you turn to?
RS: Sinker.
VEB: You have now been in the minor leagues for parts of six season. What is your favorite part about being a minor leaguer? And least favorite part?
RS: My favorite part is just learning about myself and who I am. My least favorite part is the travel.
VEB: Do you mind sharing the significance/meaning behind your tattoo sleeve?
RS: The lower half consists of the passing of my father, and the upper half is a significance of happiness.
VEB: How often do you and your teammates watch the big-league Cardinals while your own season is taking place?
RS: Whenever it is on in the locker room.
VEB: What are your thoughts on advanced metrics and their place in the game of baseball?
RS: Advanced metrics are cool, but I also believe in passion, hard work, and dedication. You can't take those away from somebody just because the metrics say they can't be a big leaguer. You will never know until they are up there.
VEB: Take us back to the day the organization told you that they were transitioning you from a starting role to the bullpen, what specifically did they say and how did you feel at the time?
RS: It was in spring training, and they just said, "Sorry, you're a reliever now." I said, "Uh...all right." Lol.
VEB: If you were forced to spend a year on a deserted island with one your teammates -- past or present -- who would it be and why?
RS: Definitely John Brebbia. The guy is hilarious.
Editor's Response: I have no idea about Brebbia's survival skills, but at the very least Sherriff would be entertained.
VEB: Based on your Twitter feed, you're a budding Pokemaster on the new Pokemon Go app, what advice would you give to those still deciding whether or not to begin playing?
RS: Everybody needs to become a Pokemaster because "you gotta catch 'em all."
I thank Sherriff for taking the time to answer these questions for Viva El Birdos, especially considering he did not have time off for the All-Star break since he was an All-Star representative of the Memphis Redbirds. While he may not currently be on the 40-man roster, I could absolutely see some late-season shuffling of the roster to make him an option out of the MLB bullpen come September call-ups.
If interested, you can follow Sherriff on Twitter: @KingSherriff. He easily has one of the best baseball player accounts out there. Also, Sherriff was interviewed on the radio before a Redbirds' game last month here.