Skip to main content

PhoulBallz Interview: SP Dom Pipkin talks 2021 success

Producing like an All-Star for the Class A Advanced Jersey Shore BlueClaws, right-hander Dominic Pipkin is enjoying a lot of success on the mound this year.  

A ninth round draft pick in 2018 out of high school in Pinole, California, the 21-year-old sports a 4-1 record with a 4.53 ERA, a 1.29 WHIP along with a 10.4 K/9 mark through 13 games.

Recently, I spoke with Pipkin, who was fresh off of back-to-back scoreless starts at the time.  He shared some insight on his production to date this year, updating his pitch repertoire, the organization's piggyback rotation with pitchers and more.  Read ahead for that interview.  


-What are you thoughts on your season so far?  Are you producing at a level you would have hoped for?

I’ve had a tremendous year so far, I’m hoping I can keep playing as well as I am.

-Much of the Phils' minor league system works with a "piggyback" rotation for the starting pitchers, where one turn a pitcher would start, the next turn the same pitcher relieves the guy who relieved him the last time, taking turns doing that.  

The piggyback system is useful because it teaches starters how to get hot quick during a game but it’s not the best because it’s still a five day rotation, not exactly the same as throwing, possibly, three times in a week (as a true reliever).

-Is the piggyback method beneficial for everyone or are there guys that it doesn't agree with?

The piggyback doesn’t agree with some starters, I don’t want to say who, but some of us take longer to get ready than others.

-Are you still working with the same repertoire you had prior to the cancelled season and is there any change to your velocity?

Since the 2019 season I’ve gone back to the same delivery and pitches I used in high school actually.  It’s more comfortable for me and I have an extra pitch to throw batters off my main three.

The remainder of this interview is available to subscribers on Patreon.com/PhoulBallz.  Please consider supporting my work to gain access to loads of exclusive interviews and other content.  

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

PhoulBallz Q&A with Mike Stutes

Mike Stutes completes "The Reading Phils Mike Tri-fecta" over three days, here on PhoulBallz.com. Stutes, a 22 year old, was an 11th round selection by the Phillies in the 2008 amateur draft. Stutes, a right handed starting pitcher, helped lead Oregon State to the College World Series championship in both 2006 and 2007. Stutes and teammate Vance Worley are the first players to begin a season at Reading the year after being drafted since Pat Burrell did it in 1999. Stutes was the Phils' minor league pitcher of the month in August '08, when he went 4-1 with a 1.72 ERA in 6 starts. Check out my Q&A with the third Mike below. Can I get you to talk about the coaching staff and how they help you deal with ups and downs? They've been real positive with me. I started out good and then I hit a rough patch. They've stuck with me through it all. I haven't heard any negative words from them. Every day they try to come out, work with me, try to get me turned around...

Jason Knapp Q&A

PhoulBallz .com was fortunate enough to meet with Phillies prospect Jason Knapp just one day after he caught the attention of the baseball world with his 7 shut out innings, 14 strike out performance against the Indians' Lake County team. - I asked Jason, the Lakewood BlueClaw , for some thoughts about his big game... I had pretty good command of three pitches (fastball, curve, change up). I was on the same page with my catcher, D'Arnaud , and I ended up, ya know, I felt pretty good. - In a great performance like that, how much credit goes to Travis D'Arnaud , the catcher? More than you might expect, definitely. I didn't shake him off once. He told me what to throw and I do what I'm told. And if it works out, a lot of the credit goes to the catcher. - Does the lack of run support (Lakewood has scored 3 total runs in his 3 starts), in your few starts, increase your stress level, or enhance your focus? No, I just try to go out and do my job every outing. Ya know, we...

Yankees Fans Misled By Pepsi Promotion

**** Today, New York Yankees fans attended a Pepsi promotion in Times Square hoping for chances to win opening day tickets to the new stadium, but the tickets, which were difficult to track down due to poor organization on Pepsi's part, were actually for a game in June. Furthermore, the 250 pairs that were promised were actually only 100 pairs. The fans, who were made to sprint through traffic over multiple city blocks when locations for the promotion changed, quickly turned against the soda brand by pooring out their beverages and chanting anti-Pepsi phrases. Yankees fans are even threatening a boycott of Pepsi. An appearance by Yankee great Goose Gossage could not even settle the angry mob, as he had to be whisked away, as a precaution, according to the Daily News . Ooo , I'd hate to see what "the worst fans in sports" (Philadelphia fans) would have done to their free Pepsi cans and beloved reliever in that situation. Because this happened in a non-Philly city, th...