Andre Lipcius
| Andre Lipcius | |
|---|---|
| Detroit Tigers – No. 27 | |
| Third base | |
| Born: May 22, 1998 Annapolis, Maryland, U.S. | |
Bats: Right Throws: Right |
Andre Martinas Lipcius (born May 22, 1998) is an American professional baseball third baseman for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Lipcius would attend Lafayette High School in Williamsburg, Virginia, where he was a four-year letterman and a team captain. He would commit to the University of Tennessee, where he would play with his brother and fraternal twin, Luc, and major in nuclear engineering.[1] and, as a freshman, was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team, as he started all 52 of the team's games at first base leading the team with 11 doubles. He would move to shortstop as a sophomore and improve on nearly all his batting metrics, including jumping from one to seven home runs, and improving his average from .275 to .315. In 2018, he played collegiate summer baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League, and was named a league all-star.[2] He would finish his career as a junior, starting all 61 games for the Volunteers at third base, and leading the team with 17 home runs to go with 58 RBIs, a .306 average, and a team-leading 72 hits.[3]
Lipcius would be drafted in the third round, 83rd overall, in the 2019 MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers. Lipcius was assigned to the Single-A West Michigan Whitecaps to start his career, and he had a strong first professional campaign. The rookie would hit .273 over 253 at bats, with an OBP of .344. The COVID-19 pandemic meant that Lipcius would not be able to play in the minor leagues of the MLB in 2020, however Lipcius would play with the Peninsula Pilots in the college summer league, the Coastal Plain League.[4]
In 2021, Lipcius would start the season once again in West Michigan, albeit, now at the High-A level due to the shake-up in affiliates in the Detroit Tigers organization. On June 1, Lipcius would receive a call-up to the Double-A Erie SeaWolves. At the time of his call-up, Lipcius led the Whitecaps in batting average at .277, had three home runs and 13 RBIs, and had 12 walks to 16 strikeouts, helping him to an OBP of .357 and an OPS of .839.[5]
On November 15, 2022, the Tigers added Lipcius to their 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft.[6] Lipcius was optioned to the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens to begin the 2023 season.[7] In 97 games for Toledo, he batted .272/.363/.419 with 11 home runs and 58 RBI. On September 1, Lipcius was promoted to the major leagues for the first time.[8]
References
- ^ Paul, Tony. "Tigers' third-round pick Andre Lipcius is super smart, and now pretty darn wealthy, too". The Detroit News. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
- ^ "#13 Andre Lipcius – Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
- ^ "Andre Lipcius – Baseball". University of Tennessee Athletics. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
- ^ O'Brien, Marty (August 11, 2020). "Andre Lipcius and Vinnie Pasquantino lost their minor league season. The Peninsula Pilots helped give some of it back". pilotonline.com. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
- ^ "Whitecaps' Andre Lipcius promoted to Double-A Erie". WZZM13.com. June 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
- ^ "Tigers add 5 youngsters to the roster; veteran reliever among those cut". mlive.com. November 15, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
- ^ "Tigers' Andre Lipcius: Optioned to Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
- ^ "Tigers' Andre Lipcius: Recalled from Triple-A". cbssports.com. Retrieved September 1, 2023.
External links
- Career statistics from Baseball Reference (Minors)