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After completing what was easily the best month of his career, righty hurler Dominic Pipkin is ready to face the tough competition of the prominent Arizona Fall Leage.   Pipkin, who was the Phillies' 9th round draft selection in 2018, has had moderate success in his five years as a pro, posting a 4.93 ERA, a 7.6 K/9 mark and a .260 batting average against mostly at the lower levels on the minors. After missing time this year with an unspecified ailment, the six-foot-four 170-pounder proved to be healthy as he dominated AA competition in nine appearances with the Reading Fightin Phils during August.  Pipkin's impressive production resulted in a 1-0 record with a save and a 0.96 ERA while striking out eight and walking three in 9 1/3 innings. The California native says his efforts to improve have helped him touch 100 MPH on the radar gun, while his fastball velocity is mostly around 96 MPH.   Pipkin's arsenal includes that improved fastball as well as a slider whi...

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 sa...

We're more than a week into the minor league season and there are some players performing at a level that is what one may expect based on a guy's previous performance and reputation.  There are also players widening eyes and tilting heads...some in a good way...others not in a good way.   Here's a list of names doing well, as should be expected...we'll call this list an excited "OH, FOR REAL?!" Left-hander Damon Jones is doing Damon Jones things with Triple-A Lehigh Valley.  Two appearances, 3 1/3 innings, one hit allowed, zero runs, one walk surrendered, five strike outs.  The Phils' 18th round pick from 2017 has a 3.29 career ERA, a .218 batting average against and an 11.1 K/9 mark in his professional career to date. Matt Vierling is off to a great start.  In eight games with Double-A Reading, the righty hitting outfielder sports a .310 average with two homers and two stolen bases.  He was a 5th round draft selection by the Phillies in 2018. ...

Ben Brown, image- Jay Floyd LAKEWOOD, NJ- In the inagural contest under their new moniker and their initial contest as a Class A Advanced level club, the Jersey Shore BlueClaws were victorious, as they downed the Hudson Valley Renegades by a score of 6-2 on Tuesday night. Starting pitcher Ben Brown, who underwent Tommy John surgery in the summer of 2019, tossed four scoreless frames, striking out six and walking one.   After the Renegades took a 1-0 lead on an RBI double by third baseman James Nelson off of reliever Tyler McKay in the top of the 5th inning, the BlueClaws did not wait long to clap back.   A looping opposite field single by right fielder Jhailyn Ortiz plated two runs to give the BlueClaws the lead.  Catcher Logan O'Hoppe launched a homer in convincing fashion, plating Ortiz, to pad the home club's lead. Jersey Shore's third and fourth batters in the lineup lead the offense again in the 7th inning when Ortiz plated another run on a single and O'Hop...

Season's greetings to all!  It's that time of the year to celebrate and enjoy the holiday season.  Every year at Christmas time, I survey a group of Phillies prospects about what they get excited for during the holidays.  This year I included a throwback Phils name as well. Individuals taking part in this year's 11th annual Christmas favorites survey include former Phillies All-Star and coach Mickey Morandini as well as pitching prospects Dominic Pipkin , Erik Miller and Ben Brown along with corner infielder Matt Kroon. Inquiries and responses regarding each player's holly jolly favorites lie ahead...   -What's your favorite Christmas song and which version? Morandini- All I Want For Christmas by Mariah Carey. Pipkin- Blue Christmas by Elvis.  It's just unbeatable.   Miller- I don't like Christmas music, to be honest. Kroon- I am a big fan of the original Jingle Bells. It reminds me of being a kid again. It reminds me of all the holid...

Dom Pipkin, image- Jay Floyd Righty pitcher Dominic Pipkin spent the 2019 season with the Class A BlueClaws.  In 24 appearances he tallied a 3-4 record with a 5.15 ERA, a 1.62 WHIP along with a .261 batting average against. Pipkin was a 9th round draft selection in 2018 and is among the organization's most promising hurlers. This week I spoke with the 21-year-old (his birthday is today!) California native about his time at Fall Instructs and more.  Read ahead for that interview. -What can you share about the benefits of Fall Instructs this year following a cancelled regular season?   Instructs after a cancelled season allowed the few players that went to  get live reps in after 6 months of nothing, it was good to get the rust  off and feel that first inning jitter again. -Did you or other players there go harder during your month at Instructs as opposed to a regular fall exhibition schedule that follows an action-packed regular season? We definitely tried a li...

Please consider supporting my work and subscribe to  my Patreon page .  Your patronage will get you exclusive interviews and other prospect related material as well as early access to all of my other content such as this post.  Thank you. Recently, I posted an interview with Phillies infield prospect Kendall Simmons in which he talked about the current baseball hiatus.  In addition to sharing insight on how he's been staying in shape as well as what motivates him, the 20-year-old, who was an All-Star with Class A short-season Williamsport last year, took time to answer some less serious questions for me. In this separate interview, Simmons spoke about ice cream, super powers, teammates and other silly topics.  Read ahead to check that out... - Who is your favorite female athlete? U.S. soccer player Alex Morgan.   - Can you share three words to describe Dominic Pipkin ? Goofy, lanky, stubborn. - If you could have one super ...

With a global pandemic going on, society is on lockdown with many local governments issuing orders to stay at home and for employers to allow their staff to work from home. This week I reached out to some familiar names to see how they prepared to be hunkered down at home for extended periods of time.  Included in the group that I surveyed are baseball players, a professional wrestling champion, a recording artist as well as the radio voice of a local team. I asked, "What did you 'panic shop' for or what did you stock up on with all of this going on?"  Read ahead for the responses I got. Dom Pipkin, image- Jay Floyd Pitching prospect Dominic Pipkin : We did a little shopping, but it wasn't like hoarders grocery edition or anything.  We got a normal amount of snacks and stuff to eat and we already had toilet paper, so we didn't buy that. Pitching prospect Jonathan Hennigan , who hunts and fishes:  Man, no.  I got plenty of deer meat, fish and hog ...

Dominic Pipkin, image- Jay Floyd In the first half of the season Class A pitcher Dominic Pipkin showed why he has gotten attention as one of the Phillies' most promising young prospects.  Since the Sally League's recent All-Star break, it's been a bit different for the talented hurler, who features high 90's velocity. In 12 outings (six starts) prior to the break, the 19-year-old right-hander posted a 3-1 record with a 3.29 ERA, a .255 batting average against along with a 5.9 K/9 mark.  In three appearances (two starts) following the mid-season mark, Pipkin has struggled with a 0-1 record, a 27.00 ERA, a .478 batting average against while walking five batters in 3 2/3 frames. Pipkin, who was the Phillies' 9th round draft pick in 2018, has kept his head high, despite his difficulties on the mound.  Following one of his recent poor efforts, a start in which he last just 1 1/3 innings, I found Dom in good spirits.  He spent time talking to me, answering Nine ...

HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz   Following the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws' exciting walk-off victory in the 10th inning against West Virginia (Mariners affiliate) on Thursday night, I spoke with the team's manager Mike Micucci about several of his team's standouts including starting pitcher Dom Pipkin, who had a less than ideal performance, middle infielder Luis Garcia, who notched the game's big hit and others.  Micucci also talked about the recent promotion of top prospect Alec Bohm, who opened this season with Lakewood and is headed to Double-A Reading.  Read ahead for those interview excerpts. Dom Pipkin, image- Jay Floyd -Not a very good start from Dominic Pipkin , who only lasts an inning and a third, gave up three earned runs and threw more balls than strikes... He looked a little rusty (coming off of the All-Star break), I thought.  Had a hard time getting ...

Earlier this week I published a feature on Class A Lakewood pitcher Dominic Pipkin . In the piece, which can be read by clicking here , the 19-year-old's success and outstanding skill set are discussed with quotes from the player himself along with his pitching coach. Through nine appearances (four starts) for the BlueClaws, Pipkin sports a 2-1 record with a 3.73 ERA, a .261 batting average against and a 6.9 K/9 mark. Below, I have included quotes from the talented right-handed California native talking about his pitch repertoire, his family which Phillies pitcher he draws comparisons to and much much. -What sorts of feedback are you getting from the coaching staff of late? They give all kinds of feedback. They give you pretty much every measurement your ball has, whether it’s vertical, horizontal. They have this ZXY-whatever. They tell you how hard you threw it. They tell you if it was effective. Spin efficiency. Spin rate. They give you every bit of information...

Dominic Pipkin, image- Jay Floyd HELP SUPPORT CONTENT LIKE THIS AND KEEP IT COMING ALL SEASON LONG BY BECOMING A PATRON!- https://www.patreon.com/phoulballz LAKEWOOD, NJ-- In his initial outing this season, his first appearance in full-season professional baseball, right-hander Dominic Pipkin surrendered a home run on the very first pitch he threw. Two errors and two additional runs later, the 19-year-old was an inning into his first full minor league season and wasn't about to let that sort of debut impact his outlook. Pipkin moved forward, later surrendering another extra-base hit to Rangers top catching prospect Sam Huff, that one a double to go along with his round-tripper, but otherwise turned out a nearly flawless pair of frames to wrap up his outing. According to Pipkin, he was initially in disbelief, but the impact of Huff's long ball may have helped him. "I remember thinking to myself, 'Did that really just happen? The first pitch I threw jus...

Some details on the Phillies' activities during day 2 of this year's MLB Draft... With the team’s 2nd pick in the draft, at number 107 overall, the Phillies selected right-handed pitcher Colton Eastman. The six-foot-three 200-pounder looked great this year in his junior season with Cal State Fullerton. In 16 starts for the Titans, the Fresco, CA native posted a 10-3 record with a 2.20 ERA while striking out 116 and walking 27 in 110 2/3 innings pitched. He tossed a no-hitter against UC Santa Barbara in March and took a no-no into the sixth frame three other times this year. Last week, in the NCCA baseball tournament, Eastman was remarkable, retiring the first 13 batters he faced, with seven of the first eight being strike outs.  He ended up giving up two runs on four hits in that outing.   Eastman tallied a 2.20 ERA over his three year collegiate career. In the 5th round, the Phillies drafted outfielder Matt Vierling out of Notre Dame. The six-foot-two 208-poun...