Andre Lipcius is the exact type of player that Harold Uhlman would write about.
Andre Lipcius was born May 22, 1998 to Rochelle and Romuald Lipcius. Andre has a fraternal twin brother, Luc, who was also an accomplished baseball player.
Lipcius went to Lafayette High School in Williamsburg, Virginia where he lettered in baseball four years. In his senior season, Andre hit .462 with four home runs, 21 RBI and a 6-2 record on the mound. He was ranked as the #3 SS and #19 overall player in Virginia by Perfect Game, the world’s largest baseball scouting service.
As a junior, Andre earned Underclass High Honorable Mentions accolades after helping his school to a 3A State Championship title, hitting .390 on the year and pitching a complete game to seal the state championship for Lafayette.
Lipcius committed to The University of Tennessee along with his fraternal twin brother, Luk. Andre was in the Opening Day lineup for Tennessee, starting at 1B. He was one of four true freshman to start that day. He started each of the 52 games at 1B for Tennessee. He was the only Vol to start and play in each of the 52 games.
Lipcius began his collegiate career by reaching base safely in 21 straight contests for Tennessee. For his freshman season, Andre hit .275 with a team-best 11 doubles, two triples, one homer and 26 RBIs. He was charged with just four errors over 470 chances. Andre and Luc became the first-known set of twins to start for the Volunteers in school history.
For his efforts, Andre was named to the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper Freshman All American team, and was named to the SEC All Freshman team.
Andre moved to SS for the start of his sophomore season against Maryland in the 2018 opener. He started 55 of 56 games at SS, leading the Vols with a .315 average, 7 HR, 42 RBI, and 96 total bases. He had 64 hits including 11 doubles. He led the Vols with 19 multi-hit games, including eight games with three or more, and 10 games with multiple RBIs.
As a junior in 2019, Andre moved to 3B where he started a played in 61 games, averaging .308 with a team-leading 17 home runs and 58 RBIs. Had also had a team-high 73 hits with 15 doubles.
Lipcius helped the Vols advance to the Chapel Hill Regional Championship with a win over Liberty where he went 3-for-5 with two runs batted in.
In addition to his Freshman Honors, Andre garnered the following baseball accolades:
- 2019 ABCA/Rawlings South All-Region Second Team
- SEC Player of the Week (5/13)
- Rated as No. 56 overall 2019 MLB Draft Prospect by D1Baseball.com
- Rated as No. 17 2019 MLB Draft Prospect among SEC players by Baseball America
The Lipcius brothers were not just accomplished baseball players, but excelled in the classroom as well. Andre:
- Four-year honor roll & National Honor Society student at Lafayette High School
- Majored in Nuclear Engineering at the University of Tennessee.
- Recipient of the Halliday Family Men’s Athletic Scholarship Endowment
- Recipient of the James W. Robinson Scholarship Endowment
- Recipient of the Catherine & Paul Mountcastle Scholarship Fund
- Recipient of the Donald R. Carson Volunteer Family Scholarship
Luc:
- Member of the honor roll, math club & National Honor Society as a student at Lafayette High School
- Earned his bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Tickle College of Engineering in May of 2021
Andre became a 3rd round draft pick, 83rd overall, in 2019. He signed for $733,100. The average salary for a nuclear engineer is $107,600.
To put that in perspective, the Dodgers selected 4 players around Lipcius.
- 1st round – 25 overall – Kody Hoese
- 1st round – 31 overall – Michael Busch
- 2nd round – 78 overall – Jimmy Lewis (RHP)
- 3rd round – 102 overall – Ryan Pepiot
Andre was assigned to full season Low A West Michigan Whitecaps in the Midwest League (same as Great Lakes). For the season, in 283 PA, Lipcius hit .273/.344/.360/.704, with 2 HR and 16 doubles, 27 BB and 57 K. He primarily played 2B and 3B, with a few games at SS.
When the COVID-19 pandemic led to the cancellation of the minor league season in 2020, Lipcius played with the Peninsula Pilots in the Coastal Plain League.
In 2021, Lipcius started the season again in West Michigan, but after the reonstruction of the affiliates, the Midwest League became a High A League.
On June 1, he received 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.
At Lake Erie, in 385 PA, Lipcius slashed .235/.312/.378/.690, with 18 doubles, 2 triples, 9 HR, and RBI. He had 39 RBI and 82 K. Defensively, he was just about evenly split at 2B and 3B.
In 2022, Andre started the season with Erie. On August 3, Lipcius was promoted to AAA Toledo Mud Hens. For the season:
- AA – 372 PA – .264/.392/.426/.818
- AAA – 188 PA – .302/.388/.453/.841
Combined, Lipcius slugged 12 HR with 33 doubles, and 2 triples. He improved his BB/K ratio with 86 BB and 89 K.
Lipcius was added to the 40 man roster after the 2022 season. He was optioned to Toledo to start the 2023 season. In 419 PA, Lipcius slashed .272/.363/.419/.782, with 16 doubles, 2 triples, 11 HR, 52 BB and 74 K.
On September 1, Andre was recalled to the Detroit Tigers and made his MLB debut as a PH against the CWS. In the 7th inning, Lipcius was sent up to hit for Riley Green against RHRP Lane Ramsey. Lipcius struck out swinging on a 3-2 pitch. Lipcius stayed in the game and got a 9th inning AB, where he flew out to RF Oscar Colas.
On September 2, 2023, Lipcius got his first start against RHSP Mike Clevinger. In the top of the 1st inning, on a 1-2 slider from Clevinger, Lipcius drove the ball over the LF wall for a 2 run HR and a 4-0 Detroit lead, and his first MLB hit. The rest of the day? 0-4 with 3 K. But that first hit!!!!
First hit! FIRST HOMER!
Andre Lipcius will remember this one forever. pic.twitter.com/jwi4KzYxF7
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) September 2, 2023
Lipcius stayed with Detroit for the remainder of the year and in 38 PA, Lipcius hit .286/.342/.400/.742. He had 3 BB against 8 K.
Defensively, Lipcius is a true utility player. For his MiLB career:
- 3B – 194 games
- 2B – 145 games
- 1B – 34 games
- LF – 14 games
- SS – 9 games (none after 2019)
- RF – 1 game
- DH – 27 games
In 2022, with 50 PA, Miguel Vargas batted .170/.200/.255/.455 with 2 BB and 13 K. Vargas gets handed the 2B job after his start. Lipcius with a better start? He gets DFA’d by Detroit. Why? Because Detroit preferred utility player Buddy Kennedy who they picked up off waivers from St. Louis. This was the third time Kennedy had been DFA’d since September 6.
For his MLB career, in 123 PA, Kennedy is hitting .206/.293/.299/.592, with 1 HR, 12 BB and 29 K. Kennedy is 5 months younger than Lipcius and also plays primarily a utility role (3B, 2B, 1B, LF, DH).
Kennedy was a more impressive AAA player, but his numbers came at Reno, while Lipcius was at Toledo. Kennedy had only 5 HRs at Reno, which seems very pedestrian in that launching pad. During his time in the minors, Kennedy has primarily profiled as a hit-over-power utility guy. Over the past three years, he has made 1487 minor league plate appearances at various levels, walking in 13% of them while limiting his strikeouts to a 17.9% clip.
On March 4, the Dodgers had a spot on the 40 man available so they decided to give Lipcius an opportunity. He is certainly a candidate for DFA later in the season, but for now, the Dodgers have another utility player.
You always like competition, so I would expect both Lipcius and Austin Gauthier to be utility players at AAA. Gauthier will get more time at 2B while Lipcius will probably see more time at 3B, where he could split time with Kody Hoese. Hoese could also slide over to 1B and DH.
With his versatility, Andre Lipcius fits perfectly in the mold of the Dodgers.
Welcome to the Los Angeles Dodgers, Andre Lipcius.
Thanks for the info on the new Dodger.
It would be interesting to know how teams decide who to promote and who to discard. For whatever reason, the Tigers decided to discard Lipcius.
Dodger brass put a lot of faith in Vargas despite his weak showing in ’22 He was anointed as the new second baseman, denying Busch and others in camp a level playing field. Even after Vargas got hurt, there was no real competition.
And now, a year later, Vargas is an outfielder-in-training who has been surpassed by Pages. It will take a couple of injuries, probably, for Vargas to get back to LA.
Yes, sounds like Lipcius and Gauthier will compete for a UT role, while Sweeney is the SS–though he could also be a UT option. Noah Miller needs a little more seasoning.
From the highlights, it looked like Gauthier clanked a chance at 2B today. And Mookie needs to work on his DPs.
That said, did anyone else noticed the conversation between Mookie and Rojas after the first DP? Looked to me that Rojas messed up Mookie’s timing by waiting for him to get closer to the bag before he made the throw. My impression was that Mookie was telling him to throw it quicker so he could catch it, step on the base and then step past it to make an easier throw to first. The way it happened, Mookie was forced to make an awkward throw from the bag.
If Lux struggles, we could see a lot of Rojas at SS. Again.
Are we surmising about Pages “passing” Vargas or has this been reported?
I think he is referring to the fact that Pages has outplayed Vargas and been much more productive this spring.
Not only that, but Pages is only one year younger and he’s capable of playing every OF position. His arm is well-suited for RF.
He looked good to me. Vargas doesn’t look like an outfielder. Neither does Lux, and we all know who kept telling us that he should be. I saw him out there a couple of times and I have never seen a player look more lost at his position.
None of this answers my question. Has it been reported or cited that Pages is “ahead” (whatever that means) of Vargas?
It is pure speculation based on performance so far. No one has come out and said it. The Dodgers certainly would not say it even if they are thinking it.
Who would report that? I think those who believe that Pages has passed Vargas are observing the last two years of Vargas at the MLB level, and what has transpired thus far in ST. Both RH hitters. One has a lot more power (which the Dodgers prefer). One can play all three OF positions. One can only play LF. One has a cannon for an arm (70 vs 55). When you answer who for the three questions you might understand why people might assume that Pages has passed Vargas.
OTOH, you are correct, and I am guessing that Vargas will get the 1st shot to be called up. He has one last option this year, so a decision is going to need to be made.
I have no clue, nor do I really care who gets the first shot.
Nor do I care, no offense, about arbitrary questions.
I’m just looking for information on how the team values or rates its prospects.
Well, look at it this way, Pages is getting another start in CF today, and Vargas isn’t playing.
Are you saying that people should not speculate based on what they see? Because that is all they were doing. They believe that Pages has passed Vargas. Their opinion, and that is all we have since none of us have a direct line to Andrew Friedman or Brandon Gomes.
I try to be as informative as I can be, but I also value speculation and pure ass guessing. No team is going to tell you who they value more. That is why baseball publications make a ton of $$$ to give their opinions. Detroit did not come out and tell everyone why they valued Buddy Kennedy more than Andre Lipcius.
Maybe you do not care about who gets the first shot or about arbitrary questions, but many of us do.
No, I’m not saying any of that. At all.
I’m just trying to differentiate what is being reported and what is being speculated by uninformed people like myself.
I sincerely hope that we do not see a lot of Rojas again. I supported Rojas last season because of his track record. He used to be able to hit. That possibility seems to have eluded him although his glove is not to be argued with. But our offensive game came to a grinding halt as we got to the bottom of the batting order. Lux is already giving us a taste of his hitting prowess and if him playing SS is comparable to Seager’s defensive production, I’ll take it, as a good offense is more desirable to me than just a good defense. If we can get by with Muncy at 3B, we can do it with Lux at SS.
And I’d be fine seeing a lot to Rojas at short again. I have an affinity for slick fielding shortstops. I really don’t understand why so many fans have never warmed up to Rojas. There is still conversation about finding a replacement if Lux doesn’t cut it. Willy Adames has been mentioned repeatedly. Adames hit .217 last year but his 24 homers seem to make him attractive. Chicks dig the long ball. I have no problem with Rojas and his .236 average, playing every day. This Dodger lineup doesn’t need 20 homers from everybody in the lineup especially with the defense Rojas provides. I seriously don’t get it. I’m not blaming Rojas for Mookie’s stumbling around second on his pivot from Rojas. Mookie had a tough day on 2 pivots causing 2 short hops to Freddie. The second one on the same drop-step pivot and was awkward as well. For me, I always favor a crossover the bag pivot on throws from 3rd, if possible. It cuts down the distance the ball travels and is quicker. But crossover pivots are less frequent in today’s game with drop-steps being favored for some reason. Lux had a piss poor relay a few games ago as well, getting nothing on the relay throw to first just as he frequently did many times at 2nd. The more amazing thing is Freddie not picking with of Mookie’s short hops. Hey it’s early, but these aren’t hard turns. And please, no SS trades. And perhaps a little more appreciation for Rojas would be nice.
I like Miggy, he brings a lot to the team and guys here keep forgetting what a great clubhouse guy he is. And he saved Kershaw’s no no against the Rockies. That right there puts him high on my list.
Right there with you Phil
Rojas is the defensive glue that would elevate our infield defense. Having said that I would still give Gavin a fair shot and if he fails make Rojas our everyday guy.
I think that has always been the plan.
Nice write up Jeff. MT seems to think the guy was brought in as a SS option. But as pointed out, he hasn’t played there in four years.
I have no idea where he comes up with these. I think he is so invested in Lux failing as a defensive SS that everyone they bring in is a replacement. Lipcius is a utility infielder, and he may be a good one. But he was not brought in to play SS. He played SS one year at Tennessee. He played one year at 1B and one year at 3B. He has played 9 total games as a professional at SS (all 2019) and has had a total of 42 chances. That does not sound like the Dodgers brought him in to be a SS candidate.
The other day he said Lux was on a short leash. And I mean really short.
Dodgers only have one player who is out of options, Phillips, and he isn’t going to be sent to AAA anytime soon. But there are a lot of players out there who are out of options. I also think a guy like McFarland could sneak onto this roster over say Vesia, who has not looked great.
McFarland, Gage, Rooney… all lefty options. Of the three, I root for Rooney, just because he’s paid his dues since the Dodgers drafted him.
I wonder if the brass is monitoring Tanner Scott of the Marlins. He’s a lefty and a few weeks ago was thought to be available for the right price.
Right now, there seems to be drop-off in quality from the BP righties like Phillips to the lefties. Scott would change that. Last season, he had a 2.31 ERA and 12 saves over 78 innings, averaging 12 Ks per nine.
How about Gage + Vargas for Scott + a lottery ticket?
The Marlins and Miguelito might welcome such a deal, because he’s a Cuban whose family is now rooted in Miami. While he might succeed eventually with the Dodgers, he’d probably have more opportunity elsewhere.
Unlike some, I think trading Vargas would be the best thing for the kid. He is not a natural outfielder anyway and would be a lot more comfortable playing second. I could see that trade, but it depends on who Miami might want. I feel bad for Busch. He gets traded to the Cubs, mostly to play first, then they re-sign Bellinger and once more, he is second fiddle. Lipcius is 26, little long in the tooth to be a prospect.
I think we’ve got lots of trade pieces for hand picked BP pieces we might need. Just no more SS, please.
Gage and Vargas is a huge overpay for Scott. Scott will be a FA after this season. Both Vargas and Gage still have an option, and 6 years of team control. Losing Gage gives away what the Dodgers wanted, and that was the option for flexibility and manueverablity.
I agree with Bear that Vargas would probably thrive in Miami. But the Dodgers would have to get more for Vargas than Tanner Scott.
I like the idea of Andrew Nardi for Miguel Vargas a little more. Values are much closer, although Vargas is still more. But Nardi has team control for five years. And Nardi is from Simi Valley. I am partial to kids in the Dodgers back yard.
Wow, great piece. I understand the move more now.
Nationals signed Eddie Rosario, famous Dodger killer, to a minor league contract.
Great write up Jeff!
Love to hear about the background of players pursuing their dreams. Lipcius has achieved great things in college and been a versatile minor league player. Seems like a good candidate for a utility player at the MLB level someday or at least dependable depth at AAA. What a great moment for him to homer in his first start in the MLB!
Thanks for researching and sharing this information
I’m not sure if people discuss Will Smith’s extension as much as they do discuss the silly notion of him switching positions, but on the subject of extensions the Athletic takes a stab ($$$$) The suppose 5 years with a come of $82.5M, ($20M for his ’24 & ’25 arb years). Not sure if Smith goes for much lower than Realmuto, but it’s interesting.
https://theathletic.com/5319765/2024/03/06/mlb-extensions-bo-bichette-kyle-tucker/?source=user_shared_article
ALSO
Roberts said that Daniel Hudson will be in the bullpen. His opt-out date is March 15.
Dodgers will need to clear another 40-man spot. Another trade for prospect? My first thought was Frasso to the 60, but somebody on X said that has a negative impact on team control. Can someone help me out with that?
FINALLY
Pipeline updated its Dodgers top 30 today:
https://www.mlb.com/prospects/dodgers/
Of the list: Kendall George and Frasso seem high, and the player with one of my favorite names lands at 24.
Someone at TrueBlue did this and it’s awesome! They broke the list by ages. H/T to the person, 68elcamino427
AGE
17 / SS / Emil Morales (Rank 19)
17 / RHP / Jesus Tillero (30)
18 / SS /Joendry Vargas (13)
18 / OF / Eduardo Quintero (20)
18 / OF / Josue De Paula (4)
19 / OF / Zyhir Hope (21)
19 / OF / Kendall George (12)
19 / INF / Alexander Alburtis (24)
19 / OF / Samuel Munoz (25)
19 / RHP / Payton Martin (11)
19 / RHP / Hyun-Seok Jang (18)
20 / LHP / Jackson Ferris (8)
20 / C/1B / Thayron Liranzo (10)
21 / SS/2B / Noah Miller (27)
21 / C/2B / Yenier Frenandez (28)
21 / LHP / Ronan Kopp (17)
21 / LHP / Maddux Bruns (15)
22 / 3B / Jake Geloff (23)
22 / C / Diego Cartaya (9)
23 / C / Dalton Rushing (1)
23 / OF / Jose Ramos (29)
23 / OF / Andy Pages (3)
23 / LHP / Justin Wrobleski (16)
23 / SS / Trey Sweeny (22)
24 / INF/OF / Ausitn Gauthier (26)
25 / RHP / Nick Frasso (2)
25 / RHP / Gavin Stone (6)
25 / RHP / River Ryan (5)
25 / RHP / Kyle Hurt (7)
26 / RHP / Landon Knack (15)
Geez Bluto, that’s just a ridiculous amount of talent under 26 years old.
I agree that extending Smith would be nice and the 16.4 million range seems like a bargain compared to Realmuto’s 23 per.
I’m not sure a possible move to 3rd is a silly notion. It can save his legs and he does have a history of concessions which is concerning. Catchers transition nicely to corner infield skills with any athleticism. If Muncy can play there, Smith could do too. The question is; would he welcome that move. It would be nice to have his bat in the line up for as long as he can hit. Muncy won’t be around forever either and a job may open at 3rd as early as next spring.
I’m not sure his bat is anywhere near as valuable at 3B as it is behind the plate. His potential for earnings decidedly is not.
Also:
After today’s games against the CWS, Roberts spoke about Lux per Plunkett:
“With Gavin, it’s just more of continuing to run him out there so he can build confidence in how he’s catching the ball, his footwork and getting the ball across the diamond… I’m not going to let a small sample – right now – of what we’ve seen. I just expect it to keep getting better with repetitions.”
Lux has had throwing issues in the past similar to what he’s shown this spring. He disappeared from Cactus League games one spring, spending time instead on a back field working on his footwork and throwing with instructor Jose Vizcaino.
Roberts acknowledged that this spring’s misfires seem to be largely mental in nature. “Yeah, I think so,” Roberts said. “To do anything where you’re trying to be perfect is difficult and I do think there’s some part of it where he hasn’t played baseball in quite some time. So as he’s making plays and the transition as he’s trying to get it across the diamond, he’s trying to be too fine with it. I don’t think it’s the mechanics of it. I think it’s just freeing himself up to be free and be the athlete that he is. “But I think we just have to understand that it still takes time to get back up to major-league speed and feel that once the bell rings that it’ll be there where it needs to be,”
Watching the Sox/Dodgers game today. Based on what I have seen from Lux in the 1st inning, it don’t look too good. Turned a fairly routine grounder into an infield hit because he buried his throw into the grass. Next batter, Muncy charges a ball and Lux stands around with his finger in his but and doesn’t cover third, runner advances from 2nd easily. Then that runner ends up scoring. Lux not only is messing up routine plays he is actually damaging his trade value the longer he is on the field. I think AF better be working that phone quickly and make a trade PDQ.
Sorry to be negative but jeez. If I’m a Dodger Pitcher this season my prayer would be “Don’t hit it to the left side of the infield!” Really really really bad today, at least in the first 3 innings. The defense is giving Yamamoto the chop sticks under the fingernails treatment today.
Yamamoto got himself in trouble, yeah, Lux’s throws were low, but do you realize that he has had very few balls hit to him when he has been playing SS??????? Today was the most action he has seen all spring. Give the guy more than a handful of games. Sheesh.
MMB, did you miss the part above where there was support for Rojas at SS if Lux doesn’t cut it? No trades for another SS please.
Actually I didn’t Phil. I am not advocating for a trade to bring a SS here, we have the guys already. I’m advocating for Lux to be moved for perhaps some very good prospects. i am a Rojas fan, dude is smooth and we need a smooth anchor at SS. I like Muncy but he is far from adequate as a 3B. Left side in it’s current configuration is going to be a real problem.
Hope that cleared things up for you Phil.
All of the Lux talk about being traded or should be moved off SS is hyperbolic and way too soon. He hasn’t played competitive baseball for over one year. Give him a break.
In yesterday’s game Mookie threw two double-play throws in the dirt that Freddie couldn’t scoop. Can give an error because a completed double play cannot be assumed. One of the poor throws resulted in a run scored on the next AB. Crap happens and Lux will be just fine.
Nobody is taking that chatter seriously.
This!
Lipcius had a nice debut. Two hits before he struck out his last at bat. Karros was in the dugout again today. Looked a little scruffy with that facial hair.