Justus Sheffield & Duane Underwood Jr. Sign with Ghost Peppers for 2025

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AtL Gastonia Ghost Peppers

Justus Sheffield & Duane Underwood Jr. Sign with Ghost Peppers for 2025

April 18, 2025 - Atlantic League (AtL)
Gastonia Ghost Peppers News Release


GASTONIA, N.C. - The Gastonia Ghost Peppers have signed LHP Justus Sheffield and RHP Duane Underwood Jr. for 2025, announced by general manager Brady Salisbury on Friday.

Both are former big-league pitchers, with Sheffield pitching for the Yankees and Mariners and Underwood Jr. for the Cubs and Pirates.

Sheffield, 28, was drafted by Cleveland in the first round in 2014. The southpaw was traded to the Yankees in a package for LHP Andrew Miller in 2016. Two years later, Sheffield was shipped to the Mariners along with others for LHP James Paxton. The Tullahoma, Tennessee, native made 48 appearances in the majors, with 33 of them being starts. He went 12-12 with a 5.47 ERA between New York and Seattle. Sheffield spent the 2024 season in the Reds organization, pitching for Triple-A Louisville.

Underwood Jr., 30, was selected by the Cubs in the second round of the 2012 draft. The right-hander pitched in the majors for the Cubs from 2018-2020, striking out 43 batters in 36.1 innings. The Atlanta native then pitched for the Pirates from 2021-2023. His best season was in 2021, posting a 4.33 ERA and recording 65 strikeouts in 43 relief appearances. Underwood Jr. pitched for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the Yankees system last season, going 3-1 with a 3.26 ERA in 32 outings.

With the addition of these two former major-league arms, the Ghost Peppers have now signed 23 players for the 2025 season.

The players who have signed so far are:

RHP Jimmie Sherfy

RHP Parker Kruglewicz

RHP Ryne Inman

RHP Matt Hartman

RHP Nick Snyder

RHP Duane Underwood Jr.

LHP Nick Horvath

LHP Ryan Hennen

LHP Kevin Smith

LHP Adam Scott

LHP Justus Sheffield

C Gavin Stupienski

C Luis Aviles

INF Jake Hoover

INF Alan Alonso

INF Ethan Skender

INF Braxton Davidson

INF Jack Reinheimer

INF Richie Martin

OF Eric De La Rosa

OF Kevin Watson Jr.

OF Narciso Crook

OF Dalton Guthrie

The team will complete the player signing announcements over the next week.

***

Gastonia Ghost Peppers begins its second season of operations with Zawyer Sports & Entertainment - a sports ownership group with professional teams operating in the U.S. and the fifth season for the franchise at CaroMont Health Park in the FUSE District of Gastonia. The Ghost Peppers have made the ALPB Playoffs for three consecutive seasons, setting the league record for highest win percentage in a three-year span (.651 from 2022-2024.)

In their inaugural season, the Ghost Peppers had seven players with contracts purchased by other leagues, whether that be MLB-affiliated clubs or leagues outside the country. They also had two former players make their MLB debuts in 2024 - Spencer Bivens (Tigers) and Bryan Sammons (2024.) Bivens is on the Giants' 26-man roster in 2025. J.C. Escarra, who played for Gastonia in 2023, is currently on the Yankees' 26-man roster.

The Ghost Peppers open the 2025 season on Friday, April 25 against the York Revolution. Game time is set for 7 p.m. Single game tickets are currently on sale. Contact the Ghost Peppers office at 980-415-2255, or visit www.ghostpeppersbaseball.com for more information.

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Atlantic League Stories from April 18, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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