Brandon Shipley dominates in his first start for South Bend

After being held back in extended spring training to start the season due to right shoulder soreness, Braden Shipley made his season debut Thursday night for Class A South Bend. He threw five scoreless innings and earned his first professional victory as South Bend defeated Quad Cities, 5-0.

The right hander is the Diamondbacks no.2 pitching prospect and no.75 overall. He along with top prospect Archie Bradley are the pitching future for the Dbacks. He struck out four batters and allowed five hits. He induced five groundouts and walked just one batter.

The Dbacks selected him with the 15th overall pick in the 2013 first year player draft. Shipley is out of Nevada University. He made 12 starts after signing reaching South Bend in mid-August. He posted a 2.61 era in 4 starts for the SilverHawks last season. Here are some opinions of Shipley from prospect experts courtesy of SB Nation

Aaron Fitt, Baseball America: “Scouts love Shipley’s athleticism, easy arm action and prototypical 6-foot-3, 190-pound frame. Shipley said his grandfather told him in the last few years that he is related to Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Jordan Shipley — but Braden might be the family’s best athlete.”

Keith Law, ESPN: “He’s hit 99 mph but pitches more at 92-95, throwing strikes with an easy, low-effort delivery. His best pitch is his changeup, a plus offering at 83-86 mph with great arm speed and heavy late action on it. His curveball is just average now, 78-80 with some angle to it and plenty of depth.”

Matt Garrioch, Minor League Ball: “(if) you opt for the quicker impact, Shipley is no slouch with his upper 90’s velocity.”