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Ryan Sebastian Sherriff (born May 25, 1990) is a left-handed professional baseball pitcher in the St. Louis Cardinals organization.
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In 2011 as a sophomore at Glendale Community College, he was named First Team All-Western State Conference South Division. He was drafted by and signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in the 28th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft.
In 2012, he was voted Cardinals Organization Pitcher of the Month in June, and the Cardinal Nation and Scout.com Palm Beach Cardinals Starting Pitcher of the Year. In 2013, he was voted Florida State League Pitcher of the Week on August 5, and again the Palm Beach Cardinals Starting Pitcher of the Year, as he had a 2.57 ERA in 18 starts. In 2014 he was transitioned to be a relief pitcher, and in 44 games in AA and AAA he had a 2.88 ERA. He was named to the 2016 Pacific Coast League All Star Team, while pitching for the Memphis Redbirds, and finished the 2016 season with a 7-1 record and 3 saves in 49 relief appearances, and a 2.84 ERA. After the 2016 season, the Cardinals assigned him to pitch for the Glendale Desert Dogs in the Arizona Fall League. Sherriff pitched for Team Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic qualifier.
Early years
Sherriff was born in Culver City, California, and is Jewish. His parents were Larry and Renee Sherriff. He attended Culver City High School, in Culver City, California.
He was initially drafted by the Washington Nationals in the 33rd round of the 2010 Major League Baseball Draft from West Los Angeles College (Culver City), but did not sign.
Sherriff transferred to Glendale Community College, where he played in 2011. That season he pitched for the college as a 21-year-old sophomore, and as the team's ace was 5-4 with a 2.45 ERA in 12 starts. He was named First Team All-Western State Conference South Division.
Minor leagues
He was drafted a second time by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 28th round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft, and signed in June. At the time, Sherriff threw a 92-93 mph fastball.
Sherriff began his professional career in 2011 pitching for the Johnson City Cardinals of the Rookie Appalachian League, and for the Batavia Muckdogs of the Class A- New York-Penn League (where he held opposing batters to a .136 batting average).
In 2012, Sherriff was 10-3 with a 3.25 ERA as he started 16 games for the Palm Beach Cardinals of the Class A+ Florida State League, and shared the lead in the FSL in complete games and shutouts. He was voted Cardinals Organization Pitcher of the Month in June 2012, and the 2012 Cardinal Nation and Scout.com Palm Beach Cardinals Starting Pitcher of the Year.
In 2013, Sherriff began the season pitching again for Palm Beach. On August 3, Sherriff took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Dunedin Blue Jays, but gave up a hit in the ninth, and finished the game with a one-hit, one-walk shutout. He was voted FSL Pitcher of the Week on August 5, 2013. He was voted the 2013 Cardinal Nation and Scout.com Palm Beach Cardinals Starting Pitcher of the Year. He then pitched for the Springfield Cardinals of the Class AA Texas League. Overall, for the two teams he was 6-5 with a 2.57 ERA in 18 starts.
In spring training in 2014 Sherriff was told he was being transitioned to be a relief pitcher. He began the season pitching for the Springfield Cardinals. He then pitched for the Memphis Redbirds of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League (PCL). In 44 games for the two teams, he had a 2.88 ERA.
In 2015, he again split the season between the Springfield Cardinals and the Memphis Redbirds. In 30 relief appearances for the two teams, he had a 2.95 ERA.
He spent the 2016 season with the Memphis Redbirds, and was named to the 2016 PCL All Star Team. Sherriff dropped his arm angle, relied on his sinker, and finished the 2016 season with a 7-1 record and 3 saves in 49 relief appearances, a 2.84 ERA, held left-handers to a .172 batting average, struck out 55 batters in 66.2 innings, and induced a very high percentage of ground balls (61%).
After the 2016 season, the Cardinals assigned Sherriff to the Glendale Desert Dogs of the Arizona Fall League.
Team Israel
Sherriff pitched for Israel at the 2017 World Baseball Classic qualifier. During the opening game of the qualifier against Great Britain, Sherriff threw 7 pitches, recorded an out, and was credited with a hold. During the second game, against Brazil, Sherriff again recorded an out while facing only one batter, while throwing 5 pitches, and was credited with his second hold of the series. He said: "It was the greatest experience I’ve ever had in my life. You’re not just playing for yourself, you’re playing for a whole country. It was just awesome."