WAPPINGERS FALLS- Hudson Valley Renegades pitcher Ben Shields has been named South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Month for June, Minor League Baseball announced today. Shields is the first Renegades player to win a weekly or monthly award during the 2024 season, and is the fourth Renegades player to ever win a High-A East/SAL monthly award.
In June, Shields went 2-1 with a 2.03 ERA (6 ER/26.2 IP) in five starts while allowing only 13 hits and six walks for a 0.71 WHIP. He led the SAL with 37 strikeouts, striking out an astonishing 36.3 percent of batters faced in the month. He set and then tied his career-high with nine strikeouts in each of his final two starts of the month – on June 22 at Greensboro and June 28 against Wilmington while walking one batter and allowing five hits combined. Shields was promoted to the Double-A Somerset Patriots on July 2nd.
“Ben was fun to watch all month. Nor only has he been his typical self – dominating the strike zone and collecting strikeouts using his plus breaking pitches – but he’s worked on adding pitches and continually refining his development in the process,” said Renegades pitching coach Spencer Medick. “He has been a model for efficiency on the mound and has certainly earned his recent promotion to Double-A.”
Shields, 25, was signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Yankees on July 14, 2023 after a collegiate career spent at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (2018-21) and George Mason University (22-23). He was named a 2nd Team All-Atlantic 10 Conference pitcher in 2023, where he led the A-10 in strikeouts and tied for the league lead in wins.
The left-hander joins Randy Vasquez (August 2021) and Drew Thorpe (June 2023) as Renegades to garner High-A East/South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Month honors. In recognition of his award, the Renegades will make a $500 donation to the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at Westchester Medical Center Health Network (WMCHealth) in Shields’ name.
