Braden Shipley

Braden Alec Shipley (born February 22, 1992) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). 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 Diamondbacks selected him with the 15th pick in the 2013 Major League Baseball draft.

Early life

Shipley was raised by both his mother and father, 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 the Medford Mustangs 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 spent the 2015 season with Mobile,^[15] and the 2016 season with the Reno Aces of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League.^[16]

The Diamondbacks promoted Shipley to the major leagues to make his debut on July 25.^[17]

Personal

Shipley's cousin, Jordan Shipley, played in the National Football League.^[18]

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)