Salt Lake City, Utah —— Entering play on Sunday, Arizona Diamondbacks right-handed pitcher Braden Shipley is 5-3 with a 4.58 ERA in 12 starts for the Triple-A Reno Aces with 46 strikeouts against 23 walks in 70.2 innings pitched. I observed the Arizona Diamondbacks’ former first round (2013) pick in mid-June; below is Baseball Census‘ full Braden Shipley scouting report, including video.
Braden Shipley Scouting Report — Video
Our first video of Arizona Diamondbacks’ right-handed pitcher Braden Shipley comes from a June, 2017 start against the Salt Lake Bees:
In this June 16 start, Shipley went four innings, allowing five earned runs on eight hits and three walks while striking out one batter and allowing one home run. He threw 93 pitches, 54 of which were strikes. For more baseball prospect videos, please click here and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Braden Shipley Scouting Report — Notes
Braden Shipley is an athletic pitcher with a smooth and consistent delivery that’s easily repeatable and shouldn’t cause any extra fatigue. Good off the mound; quick to field soft grounders in his area. Fastball sat 92-93 mph for much of the game, but could occasionally jump up to 94-95 mph. Shipley’s fastball isn’t overpowering, though, so he must locate it well or else he gets hit hard. He produced seven groundouts and just three flyouts during this start, so he can be effective with a pitch-to-contact approach as long as he keeps the ball down.
The same thing applies with his off-speed stuff. His curveball sat 77-78 mph and showed some decent sharp break, but he again struggled to locate it and use it to get swings and misses. If left up or out over the plate, it’s an easy pitch to hit. Changeup sat in the low 80s, and he struggled to get it consistently to the bottom of the zone. If he can better his command, the offspeed stuff is good enough to become a strikeout pitch.
Braden Shipley has an impressive pickoff move, and controls the running game well. That should help the Arizona Diamondbacks prospect as a pitch-to-contact guy who will likely always deal with quite a few baserunners.
Braden Shipley Scouting Report — Projection
All in all, Braden Shipley’s arsenal depends on plus command. I think he’ll have starter potential in the big leagues (he’s started 13 or 15 career Major League games to date), but he could perhaps see a transition to the bullpen if his command betrays him. Decent arm strength and good length to his outings, but the Arizona Diamondbacks righty does not have the power stuff to be a strikeout artist. He’ll either line up as a back-end starter or a low-leverage middle reliever down the road.
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