User:Matt Lipka

Matthew F. Lipka (born April 15, 1992) is a professional baseball player in the Atlanta Braves organization.

Lipka attended McKinney High School in McKinney, Texas. The Atlanta Braves selected Lipka in the first round (35th overall) of the 2010 MLB Draft.

 High School

Lipka was a two-sport star in both football and baseball. As a highly rated wide receiver, he amassed over 2875 yards on 138 receptions with a school record 43 touchdowns over his three year varsity career earning him two-time Texas All-State Class 4A, All Collin County, and First Team All-District 9-4A Honors. In baseball, Lipka played four years at the varsity level, compiling a .402 BA with 19 HRs, 90 RBIs, 27 Doubles, 11 Triples and a .581 OBP. He was primarily a shortstop but was also a highly regarded pitcher compiling an 18-4 record with a 1.40 ERA and 199 strikeouts in 145 innings. He was named Offensive Player of the Year (2007),DFW All Area Team, 1st Team All-District (2008), Most Valuable Player (2009 & 2010) in District 9-4A and Texas All-State Class 4A (2010). Lipka garnered many national honors as well ; he was a Gold Medal winner for  the  2008 Team USA 16U COPABE World Championship Team, he was a 2009 Aflac All-American, 2010 Louisville Slugger All-American, and a 2009 Texas Rangers Area Code Team Selection. Lipka signed a letter of intent to play baseball at the University of Alabama under Head Coach Mitch Gaspard in 2010. He also planned to play football at the Capstone.

  Professional Career

Lipka made his debut in the Braves organization for the GCL Braves in June 2010. He hit a combined .288 with eight doubles, four triples, 25 RBIs and 21 stolen bases in 52 games between the GCL Braves and Rookie Level Danville. Selected as the July Player of the Month for the GCL club. He was named as the Braves GCL Player of the Year as well as MILB.com Organization All-Star and GCL Post Season All-Star. Rated by Baseball America as the fifth best prospect in the Braves system.

Lipka spent the entire season at Low-A Rome in 2011 where he entered the season ranked as the sixth best prospect in the Braves system according to Baseball America. Led the Braves farm system with 28 stolen bases. Named by BA as the "fastest base runner" and the "best athlete" in the Braves organization.

In 2012, Lipka appeared in 51 games for High-A Lynchburg before being sidelined for the year by a hamstring injury. Had .271 BA during that time.

In 2013, Lipka entered the season ranked by Baseball America as the 14th best prospect in the Braves system as well as the best athlete. Hit .251 in 131 games at High-A Lynchburg. Ranked fourth in the Carolina League in at bats (525) and fourth in stolen bases (37). Ranked among all Braves farm system in the following categories : fifth in total games (131), second in runs scored (76), fourth in triples (7), second in stolen bases (37), first in at bats (525), third in hits (132) and tied for fifth in doubles (29). Selected as the May Player of the Month for the Club.

In 2014, Lipka appeared in 28 games for AA Mississippi before being sidelined for the year by a hand injury. Ranked as the best athlete in the Braves farm system by Baseball America. Ranked third in the Southern League in stolen bases (10) at time of injury.

References

District 9-4A MVP 2010-news.heralddemocrat.com/hd/sitesearchresults/9-4A-baseball-all-district 2009 & 2010 DFW ALL AREA BASEBALL TEAM- http://espn.go.com/high-school/story/_/id4030948/all-area-dallas-ft-worth/ http://dallasnews.com/sports/high-schools/all-area20100623-All-Area-Baseball-Rockwall-Heath-7194.ece DFW ALL AREA FOOTBALL TEAM http://starlocalmedia.com/sports/all-collin-county-first-team-offense/article7bd63704-4203-5443-bb29-71f4b3872165.html?mode=jqm TEAM USA BASEBALL-http://web.usabaseball.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080921&content_id=35419&vkey=recap_usab AREA CODE GAMES-TEXAS RANGERS-http:// bbprospectreport.com/2009/08/06area-code-game-5 "Lipka continues to raise the level." AFLAC ALL-AMERICAN -www.baseballamerica.com/today/high-school/events/aflac-all-american-classic/2009/268486.html Committed to University of Alabama-www.tuscaloosanews.com/.../911179920 ATLANTA BRAVES GCL ORGANIZATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR. www2.goywp.com/sites/bbisports_rev1/view/102 ATLANTA BRAVES REFERENCES/MISSISSIPPI BRAVES 2014 MEDIA GUIDE P.32 www.milb.com/documents/6/5/6/69958656/ "Braves excited about what Lipka brings to the table" http://m.braves.mlb.com/news/article/68572034/braves-excited-about-what-outfielder-matt-lipka-brings-to-the-table