Braden Shipley

Braden Shipley
Arizona Diamondbacks
Pitcher
Born: February 22, 1992
Medford, Oregon
Bats: Right Throws: Right

Braden Alec Shipley (born February 22, 1992) is an American professional baseball player. A pitcher, Shipley attended the University of Nevada, Reno, where he played for the Nevada Wolf Pack baseball team. Prior to that, he attended North Medford High School in Medford, Oregon, and played for the school's baseball team. The Arizona Diamondbacks selected him with the 15th pick in the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft.

Early life

Shipley was raised by his single father, Michael, in Medford, Oregon, along with his two siblings. When Shipley was four years old, his father's friends would come to their house to watch Shipley hit plastic balls. He played in Little League Baseball.[1]

Amateur career

Shipley attended North Medford High School in Medford, Oregon. He began pitching during his junior year, and was not the ace of his team's pitching staff.[1] In 2009, he competed for North Medford in the American Legion Baseball, leading them to the American Legion World Series.[2]

Shipley committed to attend Western Nevada College, until coaches from the University of Nevada, Reno baseball team observed Shipley at the Josh Anderson Memorial Tournament in Reno, Nevada. Shipley agreed to attend Nevada on a scholarship, where he would play college baseball for the Nevada Wolf Pack.[1] As a freshman, Shipley was named to the All-Western Athletic Conference (WAC) second team as a shortstop.[1][3] He pitched only ten innings that season due to the team's need at shortstop. In his sophomore and junior years at Nevada, Shipley has focused on pitching, and has received only 12 at bats. Shipley won the WAC pitcher of the year award as a sophomore, after pitching to a 9-4 win–loss record and a 2.20 earned run average (ERA). He also played collegiate summer baseball for the Anchorage Bucs of the Alaska Baseball League.[1][4]

As a junior, Shipley was added to the Golden Spikes Award watch list.[5] Shipley was considered one of the top available prospects in the 2013 MLB Draft. Baseball America ranked Shipley the eighth best prospect, while Keith Law of ESPN.com predicted he would be chosen between the seventh and fifteenth overall selections.[6] Shipley became the first first-round pick in Nevada Wolf Pack history.[7]

Professional career

The Arizona Diamondbacks selected Shipley with the 15th pick in the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft.[8] Shipley signed with the Diamondbacks for a $2.25 million signing bonus, and reported to the Hillsboro Hops of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League.[9] He pitched to a 0-2 record and a 7.58 ERA in eight starts, while recording 24 strikeouts in 19 1⁄3 innings.. He was promoted to the South Bend Silver Hawks of the Class A Midwest League in August.[10] He pitched for South Bend in the Midwest League playoffs.[11]

Shipley began the 2014 season with South Bend, where he pitched to a 3.74 ERA with 41 strikeouts and 11 walks in 42 2⁄3 innings over eight games started. He received a promotion to the Visalia Rawhide of the Class A-Advanced California League in June.[12] He appeared in the 2014 All-Star Futures Game.[13] In August, the Diamondbacks promoted Shipley to the Mobile BayBears of the Class AA Southern League.[14] Shipley opened the 2015 season with Mobile.[15]

Personal

Shipley's cousin, Jordan Shipley, played in the National Football League.[16]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Murray, Chris (April 7, 2013). "Late-bloomer Shipley brings arsenal of pitches to mound, which puts him on the edge of history: Projected top-15 pick in the June's MLB draft has mid-90s fastball and major-league changeup". RGJ.com. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  2. ↑ Oregon. "Medford Mustangs win with two runs in ninth, will play for Legion title". OregonLive.com. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Five Wolf Pack Players Named to All-WAC Baseball Teams". Kolotv.com. May 24, 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  4. ↑ Daily, Anchorage. "Today in the Alaska Baseball League | Alaska Baseball League". ADN.com. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Wolf Pack's Braden Shipley named to Golden Spikes watch list | Wolf Pack Blog". Blogs.rgj.com. May 2, 2013. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  6. ↑ "After watching him pitch, ESPN's Keith Law pegs Wolf Pack's Braden Shipley in No. 7-15 draft range | Wolf Pack Blog". Blogs.rgj.com. March 29, 2013. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  7. ↑ "2013 Draft Top 100 Scouting Reports: 1-25". BaseballAmerica.com. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  8. ↑ "D-backs glad to grab Shipley with 15th pick | dbacks.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  9. ↑ McLellan, Sarah. "Arizona Diamondbacks agree to terms with first-round draft pick Braden Shipley". Azcentral.com. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  10. ↑ "Hillsboro Hops: Four pitchers, including Braden Shipley and Jimmie Sherfy, promoted to South Bend". OregonLive.com. August 14, 2013. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  11. ↑ WSBT-TV Report. "Silver Hawks ride rookie arms to playoff sweep of Loons | Local - Home". Wsbt.com. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Pipeline preview: Shipley set for Visalia debut | MLB.com: News". Mlb.mlb.com. January 6, 2014. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  13. ↑ Staff report (July 13, 2014). "Shipley allows no runs in Futures Game appearance". Reno Gazette Journal. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  14. ↑ Piecoro, Nick (August 25, 2014). "D-Backs prospect Shipley learns, grows in Double-A". azcentral.
  15. ↑ "Dual aces Braden Shipley, Aaron Blair lead Mobile BayBears into 2015 Southern League season". AL.com. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  16. ↑ "USABaseball.com: News: Nevada's Shipley maturing into total package". Web.usabaseball.com. June 19, 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2014.

External links