Jason Kipnis
Encyclopedia
Jason Michael Kipnis is an American baseball
player who plays second base for the Cleveland Indians
. He was called up from the minor leagues to the Indians on July 22, 2011.
In college, he was an All American, and the 2009 Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year for the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Indians picked him in the second round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft
.
In 2010, he was named the Indians' Minor League Player of the Year, and a Baseball America
Minor League All Star. Prior to the 2011 season, Baseball Prospectus
ranked him as the top Indians prospect, and the 28th-highest prospect in baseball. Mid-season, Baseball America rated him as baseball's 31st-best prospect.
, a suburb of Chicago. His parents are Mark and Kay Kipnis. He has three older siblings, one of whom played softball
at the University of Maryland
. Kipnis is now a practicing Roman Catholic (who with his consent was reflected as being Jewish for years, and whose father is Jewish).
in Northbrook, graduating in 2005. He earned three letter
s playing baseball for the Glenbrook North Spartans and was twice selected as team captain. He played shortstop and center field and pitched. As an all-conference junior, he batted .455 with a school-record 11 home run
s. As a senior, he batted .521 with a .690 on base percentage
and 32 stolen base
s in 32 attempts, and was named first-team all-state and the Central Suburban League
MVP. He was named all-conference in both his junior and senior seasons.
He also played football
for Glenbrook North in 2003 and 2004. Kipnis was an All-Conference wide receiver
. He set school season-records for catches, yards, and touchdowns. He also established school career records for catches and yards. As a senior in 2004, Kipnis had 49 pass receptions for 956 yards and 10 touchdown
s. His 2004 totals remain Glenbrook North single-season records for receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. He also still holds the school's career record with 1,247 receiving yards. In December 2004, the Pioneer Press
sports staff selected Kipnis as a member of its "2004 North Stars," the all-star football team for the Central Suburban League
's North Division. In announcing its selection, the Pioneer Press wrote: "Quite simply one of the top receivers in the state, a player who piled up impressive numbers despite the fact the Spartans averaged barely 15 passing attempts per game." He was also a kick returner
and a place kicker for the team. In addition, as a freshman he played soccer, setting the school's single-season goal scoring record with 41, and basketball.
. There, he red-shirted
for one year. He then played baseball for the Kentucky Wildcats
in 2007, batting .337 with a .450 on base percentage as an outfielder and stealing 11 bases in 12 attempts in 34 games. In February, he was awarded Southeastern Conference
Freshman of the Week honors. In the summer of 2007, he played for the Covington Lumberjacks of the Valley Baseball League
. During the summer he batted .318 with a .505 on base percentage, while stealing 24 bases.
He then attended Arizona State, where he was considered the best hitter on the Sun Devils.
In 2008, he batted .371 with 14 home runs and 73 RBIs, and finished second in the league with 24 stolen bases in 28 attempts, as he played alongside Ike Davis
and Brett Wallace
. He primarily played center field but played all outfield positions and second base, and batted leadoff part of the time. He was named the Pacific-10 (Pac-10) Conference Newcomer of the Year (becoming the second Arizona State player to win the award, after Ike Davis
, who won it in 2006), a Pac-10 Conference All-Star outfielder, first-team All-West Region by the ABCA
, second-team All America by the ABCA, and third-team All-American outfielder by Baseball America. In May 2008 he won the Pacific 10 Player of the Week award. Arizona State coach Pat Murphy
said: "I love that kid. He's tough as nails, and really hard on himself." Paul DePodesta
, the San Diego Padres front office assistant and former Los Angeles Dodgers general manager, described him as "a pesky player who is a very tough out, hitting the ball to all fields and running the bases aggressively ... [who] plays very hard and is surprisingly strong." In the summer of 2008, he played for the Cotuit Kettleers
in the Cape Cod League.
In 2009, he batted .384 with a .500 on base percentage and a .709 slugging percentage as the team's leadoff hitter, with 16 home runs, 71 RBIs, 27 steals in 33 attempts, and 51 walks vs. 32 strikeouts. He was named the Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year, a Pac-10 Conference All-Star outfielder, and a 1st Team College All-American outfielder by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
(NCBWA), by Baseball America, and by Collegiate Baseball. He was rated the # 1 outfielder in the nation by Rivals.com
.
In his two years playing for the Sun Devils as an outfielder, he batted .378 with 30 home runs, 144 RBIs, 142 runs, 37 doubles, 10 triples, and 51 stolen bases in 474 at bats.
Academically, he double-majored in psychology and sociology.
in the fourth round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft
, but opted to remain in college. He was the seventh-highest player in the draft who chose not to sign.
He was then drafted by the Cleveland Indians
in the second round (63rd overall) of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft
, and signed for a signing bonus
of $575,000.
In his first season in the minors, in 2009 he batted .306 for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers
of the Short-Season A classification New York-Penn League, playing left field and center field. While he appeared to be a good prospect as an outfielder, the Indians hoped that he would be even more valuable if he converted to become a second baseman. Baseball America ranked him the 5th-best player in the league. Baseball Prospectus rated him the Indians' 8th-best prospect, describing Kipnis as "fitting great baseball intelligence, a lot of intensity, and surprising tools into a small package. He works the count extremely well and makes consistently hard contact, and he has some surprising pop for his size."
of the A+ Carolina League
. He next hit .311 for the Akron Aeros
of the AA Eastern League, along the way twice winning the Aeros Player of the Week Award. He was ranked the 9th-best prospect in the Eastern League by Baseball America. At the same time, he made a successful conversion to second base.
He then joined the AAA Columbus Clippers
for their playoffs. He batted .455 in five games, and hit for the cycle on September 17 in the Clippers’ victory that clinched the International League
title. His big game was voted 2nd in the 2010 Fans Choice "Best Game" MiLBY Awards. Veteran catcher Luke Carlin
said:
For 2010, Kipnis led the Indians minor league system in hits (159) and runs (96), tied for third in triples (8), was fourth in doubles (32), and tied for fifth in both home runs (16) and RBIs (74) while batting a combined .313. He was named the Indians' 2010 Minor League Player of the Year (the "Lou Boudreau
Award"), and was named a 2010 Baseball America Minor League All-Star.
After the 2010 season, he played for the Peoria Javelinas
in the Arizona Fall League
. He batted .296, was tied for 5th in the league in RBIs (19), and was honored by being named to the Arizona Fall League Rising Stars game, and wrote a blog for MLB.com
during his time in the league. Baseball Prospectus ranked him as Cleveland's top prospect.
reported that he was "a compact athlete who works the count, and consistently barrels up balls with enough power for 15–20 home runs annually in the big leagues." Indians Manager Manny Acta
described him as: "a blue collar
, dirt bag, run-through-a-wall, relentless type of guy." Writer John Sickels
said he is "quite strong and has plenty of bat speed. His feel for the strike zone is impressive, and he has no problem generating power. He seems to handle both fastballs and breaking stuff well, makes adjustments, and can handle left-handed pitching just fine."
Baseball Prospectus ranked him as the 28th-highest prospect in baseball (".300 hitter, with 12–18 home runs"), and the best in the organization. Jim Bowden
ranked him the 39th-best prospect in baseball ("He made great progress defensively this past year, and there is no doubt he should be a .300, 15 HR, 70 RBI type offensive 2B in the future"). Baseball America
initially ranked him as the 54th-best prospect in baseball (and the 2nd-best second base prospect, as well as the 2nd-best prospect in the Indians organization), but by mid-season had increased their rating of him to the 31st-best in the minors.
In 2011, Kipnis was named the Indians Minor League Player of the Week for June 26 – July 2, after batting .500 with 2 home runs and a .581 on-base percentage, in a season in which he was so far 11-for-11 in stolen base attempts. At the time, Kipnis was leading the International League in runs scored (60) and triples (9), was 2nd in OPS (.914), 4th in slugging percentage (.525), 5th in on-base percentage (.389), tied for 6th in RBIs (50), tied for 7th in hits (90), 12th in average (.305), tied for 15th in stolen bases (11), and tied for 19th in HRs (11). On July 4 he was also named the International League Player of the Week.
Kipnis represented the Cleveland Indians in the 2011 All-Star Futures Game
on July 10, hitting a 95-mph fastball for a home run in his first at bat, leading off the bottom of the first inning for the United States. He was also named to the International League All-Star team, and doubled and walked in the game on July 13.
On July 22, 2011, Kipnis was called up from the AAA Columbus Clippers
to the Cleveland Indians. At the time, he was leading the International league in triples (9), was 2nd in runs scored (64), 7th in total bases (164), 10th in walks (44/tied), 12th in RBIs (55), and 17th in stolen bases (12; in 13 attempts).
. His first career hit came in his next game, two days later – a game-winning walk-off single with the bases loaded
and two outs in the ninth inning, defeating the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
.
On August 3, Kipnis became the first Indians second baseman to hit a home run in four consecutive games, and the only Indian other than former Indians MVP Al Rosen
to do so in his rookie year. It was the first time in major league history that a player had homered in four consecutive games within the first two weeks of debuting in the majors.
On August 10, Kipnis had a five-hit, four-run game, the first time a rookie had done so since Jim Fridley
in 1952. Kipnis suffered a mild to moderate right hamstring strain while stretching prior to a mid-August game against the White Sox, went on the disabled list
, and was expected to miss three weeks.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player who plays second base for the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
. He was called up from the minor leagues to the Indians on July 22, 2011.
In college, he was an All American, and the 2009 Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year for the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Indians picked him in the second round of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft
2009 Major League Baseball Draft
The 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held June 9 to June 11 at the MLB Network Studios in New York City.The drafting order is as follows:-First-round selections:Key-Supplemental first-round selections:From Baseball America...
.
In 2010, he was named the Indians' Minor League Player of the Year, and a Baseball America
Baseball America
Baseball America is a magazine which covers baseball at every level, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in high school, college, Japan, and the minor leagues. It is currently published in the form of a bi-weekly newspaper, five annual reference book titles, a weekly podcast, and a...
Minor League All Star. Prior to the 2011 season, Baseball Prospectus
Baseball Prospectus
Baseball Prospectus is an organization that publishes a website, BaseballProspectus.com, devoted to the sabermetric analysis of baseball. BP has a staff of regular columnists and provides advanced statistics as well player and team performance projections on the site...
ranked him as the top Indians prospect, and the 28th-highest prospect in baseball. Mid-season, Baseball America rated him as baseball's 31st-best prospect.
Personal life
Kipnis was born in Northbrook, IllinoisNorthbrook, Illinois
Northbrook is a village located at the northern edge of Cook County, Illinois, which is also a North Shore suburb of Chicago. The population was 33,170 at the 2010 census....
, a suburb of Chicago. His parents are Mark and Kay Kipnis. He has three older siblings, one of whom played softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
at the University of Maryland
University of Maryland
When the term "University of Maryland" is used without any qualification, it generally refers to the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland may refer to the following:...
. Kipnis is now a practicing Roman Catholic (who with his consent was reflected as being Jewish for years, and whose father is Jewish).
High school
Kipnis attended Glenbrook North High SchoolGlenbrook North High School
Glenbrook North High School, or GBN, is a public four-year high school located in Northbrook, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States...
in Northbrook, graduating in 2005. He earned three letter
Varsity letter
A varsity letter is an award earned in the United States for excellence in school activities. A varsity letter signifies that its winner was a qualified varsity team member, awarded after a certain standard was met.- Description :...
s playing baseball for the Glenbrook North Spartans and was twice selected as team captain. He played shortstop and center field and pitched. As an all-conference junior, he batted .455 with a school-record 11 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s. As a senior, he batted .521 with a .690 on base percentage
On base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped/uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) (sometimes...
and 32 stolen base
Stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...
s in 32 attempts, and was named first-team all-state and the Central Suburban League
Central Suburban League
The Central Suburban League is an IHSA-recognized high school extracurricular conference comprising 12 public schools located in the northern suburbs of Chicago...
MVP. He was named all-conference in both his junior and senior seasons.
He also played football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
for Glenbrook North in 2003 and 2004. Kipnis was an All-Conference wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
. He set school season-records for catches, yards, and touchdowns. He also established school career records for catches and yards. As a senior in 2004, Kipnis had 49 pass receptions for 956 yards and 10 touchdown
Touchdown
A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...
s. His 2004 totals remain Glenbrook North single-season records for receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. He also still holds the school's career record with 1,247 receiving yards. In December 2004, the Pioneer Press
Pioneer Press
The Pioneer Press publishes 50 local newspapers in the metropolitan Chicago area. It is a division of the Sun-Times Media Group. Pioneer Press' headquarters is in Glenview...
sports staff selected Kipnis as a member of its "2004 North Stars," the all-star football team for the Central Suburban League
Central Suburban League
The Central Suburban League is an IHSA-recognized high school extracurricular conference comprising 12 public schools located in the northern suburbs of Chicago...
's North Division. In announcing its selection, the Pioneer Press wrote: "Quite simply one of the top receivers in the state, a player who piled up impressive numbers despite the fact the Spartans averaged barely 15 passing attempts per game." He was also a kick returner
Kick returner
In American and Canadian football, a kick returner is the player on special teams who is primarily responsible to catch kickoffs and attempts to return them in the opposite direction. If the ball is kicked into his own endzone, he must assess the situation on the field while the ball is in the...
and a place kicker for the team. In addition, as a freshman he played soccer, setting the school's single-season goal scoring record with 41, and basketball.
College
Kipnis first attended the University of KentuckyUniversity of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
. There, he red-shirted
Redshirt (college sports)
Redshirt is a term used in American college athletics that refers to a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen his or her period of eligibility...
for one year. He then played baseball for the Kentucky Wildcats
Kentucky Wildcats
The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky , a founding member of the Southeastern Conference...
in 2007, batting .337 with a .450 on base percentage as an outfielder and stealing 11 bases in 12 attempts in 34 games. In February, he was awarded Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
Freshman of the Week honors. In the summer of 2007, he played for the Covington Lumberjacks of the Valley Baseball League
Valley Baseball League
The Valley Baseball League is an NCAA-sanctioned collegiate summer baseball league in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia. Each Valley Baseball League season consists of 44 games played during summer. Many Valley Baseball League players have continued on to play in Major League Baseball.The...
. During the summer he batted .318 with a .505 on base percentage, while stealing 24 bases.
He then attended Arizona State, where he was considered the best hitter on the Sun Devils.
In 2008, he batted .371 with 14 home runs and 73 RBIs, and finished second in the league with 24 stolen bases in 28 attempts, as he played alongside Ike Davis
Ike Davis
Isaac Benjamin "Ike" Davis is a Major League Baseball first baseman for the New York Mets. He and his father Ron Davis, who pitched in the majors for 11 years, are the 197th father-son combination to have both played in the major leagues.He led his high school team to three straight Arizona state...
and Brett Wallace
Brett Wallace
Brett Alexander Wallace is an American professional baseball first baseman with the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball.-High school:...
. He primarily played center field but played all outfield positions and second base, and batted leadoff part of the time. He was named the Pacific-10 (Pac-10) Conference Newcomer of the Year (becoming the second Arizona State player to win the award, after Ike Davis
Ike Davis
Isaac Benjamin "Ike" Davis is a Major League Baseball first baseman for the New York Mets. He and his father Ron Davis, who pitched in the majors for 11 years, are the 197th father-son combination to have both played in the major leagues.He led his high school team to three straight Arizona state...
, who won it in 2006), a Pac-10 Conference All-Star outfielder, first-team All-West Region by the ABCA
American Baseball Coaches Association
The American Baseball Coaches Association is a baseball coaching organization formed in 1945. It is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level.-History:...
, second-team All America by the ABCA, and third-team All-American outfielder by Baseball America. In May 2008 he won the Pacific 10 Player of the Week award. Arizona State coach Pat Murphy
Pat Murphy (baseball coach)
Patrick T. Murphy is the manager of the Eugene Emeralds minor league baseball team in the Northwest League. He is a former head baseball coach at Arizona State University and Notre Dame.-Playing career:...
said: "I love that kid. He's tough as nails, and really hard on himself." Paul DePodesta
Paul DePodesta
Paul DePodesta is the Vice President of player development and scouting for the New York Mets. He was formerly a Front Office assistant for the San Diego Padres...
, the San Diego Padres front office assistant and former Los Angeles Dodgers general manager, described him as "a pesky player who is a very tough out, hitting the ball to all fields and running the bases aggressively ... [who] plays very hard and is surprisingly strong." In the summer of 2008, he played for the Cotuit Kettleers
Cotuit Kettleers
The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League and plays in the league's Western Division. Cotuit currently plays its home games at Lowell Park...
in the Cape Cod League.
In 2009, he batted .384 with a .500 on base percentage and a .709 slugging percentage as the team's leadoff hitter, with 16 home runs, 71 RBIs, 27 steals in 33 attempts, and 51 walks vs. 32 strikeouts. He was named the Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year, a Pac-10 Conference All-Star outfielder, and a 1st Team College All-American outfielder by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association is an association of baseball writers, broadcasters, and publicists in the United States...
(NCBWA), by Baseball America, and by Collegiate Baseball. He was rated the # 1 outfielder in the nation by Rivals.com
Rivals.com
Rivals.com is a network of websites that focus mainly on college football and basketball recruiting. The network was started in 1996 and currently employs more than 300 personnel.-Schools:The individual collegiate sites can be found...
.
In his two years playing for the Sun Devils as an outfielder, he batted .378 with 30 home runs, 144 RBIs, 142 runs, 37 doubles, 10 triples, and 51 stolen bases in 474 at bats.
Academically, he double-majored in psychology and sociology.
2009
Kipnis was originally drafted by the San Diego PadresSan Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...
in the fourth round of the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft
2008 Major League Baseball Draft
The 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft continued Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, and was held on June 5 and 6, 2008.-First round selections:* Did not sign...
, but opted to remain in college. He was the seventh-highest player in the draft who chose not to sign.
He was then drafted by the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
in the second round (63rd overall) of the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft
2009 Major League Baseball Draft
The 2009 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held June 9 to June 11 at the MLB Network Studios in New York City.The drafting order is as follows:-First-round selections:Key-Supplemental first-round selections:From Baseball America...
, and signed for a signing bonus
Signing bonus
A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive to the employee, e.g., if the annual salary is lower than he or she desires...
of $575,000.
In his first season in the minors, in 2009 he batted .306 for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers
Mahoning Valley Scrappers
The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a minor league baseball club based in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River. The Scrappers play in the Pinckney Division of the Short-Season A classification New York - Penn League and are affiliated with the Cleveland Indians Major League...
of the Short-Season A classification New York-Penn League, playing left field and center field. While he appeared to be a good prospect as an outfielder, the Indians hoped that he would be even more valuable if he converted to become a second baseman. Baseball America ranked him the 5th-best player in the league. Baseball Prospectus rated him the Indians' 8th-best prospect, describing Kipnis as "fitting great baseball intelligence, a lot of intensity, and surprising tools into a small package. He works the count extremely well and makes consistently hard contact, and he has some surprising pop for his size."
2010
In 2010, Kipnis batted .300 for the Kinston IndiansKinston Indians
The Kinston Indians were a minor league baseball team of the Carolina League , and the High-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. They were located in Kinston, North Carolina, and were named for their parent club...
of the A+ Carolina League
Carolina League
The Carolina League is a minor league baseball affiliation which operates in the South Atlantic Coast of the United States. Before 2002, it was classified as a "High A" league, indicating its status as a Class A league with the highest level of competition within that classification, and the fifth...
. He next hit .311 for the Akron Aeros
Akron Aeros
The Akron Aeros are a minor league baseball team based in Akron, Ohio, USA. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians.The Aeros play in Canal Park, located in downtown Akron, which seats 9,097 fans...
of the AA Eastern League, along the way twice winning the Aeros Player of the Week Award. He was ranked the 9th-best prospect in the Eastern League by Baseball America. At the same time, he made a successful conversion to second base.
He then joined the AAA Columbus Clippers
Columbus Clippers
The Columbus Clippers are a minor league baseball team based in Columbus, Ohio. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The team is owned by the government of Franklin County, Ohio....
for their playoffs. He batted .455 in five games, and hit for the cycle on September 17 in the Clippers’ victory that clinched the International League
International League
The International League is a minor league baseball league that operates in the eastern United States. Like the Pacific Coast League and the Mexican League, it plays at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. It was so named because it had teams in both the United States...
title. His big game was voted 2nd in the 2010 Fans Choice "Best Game" MiLBY Awards. Veteran catcher Luke Carlin
Luke Carlin
Luke Christopher Carlin is an American professional baseball catcher in the Cleveland Indians organization.-Early life:...
said:
They bring up Kipnis from Akron, and we look at this little guy and say, 'Where did he come from, and what is he doing here?' We were teasing him, and all he does is go out and hit about a million. I mean, here's this little infielder and they put him in the fifth spot ... What's that about? He goes out and hits for the cycle.
For 2010, Kipnis led the Indians minor league system in hits (159) and runs (96), tied for third in triples (8), was fourth in doubles (32), and tied for fifth in both home runs (16) and RBIs (74) while batting a combined .313. He was named the Indians' 2010 Minor League Player of the Year (the "Lou Boudreau
Lou Boudreau
Louis "Lou" Boudreau was an American Major League Baseball player and manager. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1970...
Award"), and was named a 2010 Baseball America Minor League All-Star.
After the 2010 season, he played for the Peoria Javelinas
Peoria Javelinas
The Peoria Javelinas, established in 1992, are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. The Javelinas play their home games in the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona, which is a spring training site for both the San Diego Padres and the Seattle Mariners.For...
in the Arizona Fall League
Arizona Fall League
The Arizona Fall League is an off-season league owned and operated by Major League Baseball which operates during the fall in Arizona, United States at five spring training complexes...
. He batted .296, was tied for 5th in the league in RBIs (19), and was honored by being named to the Arizona Fall League Rising Stars game, and wrote a blog for MLB.com
MLB.com
MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. . MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports columns...
during his time in the league. Baseball Prospectus ranked him as Cleveland's top prospect.
2011
Baseball Prospectus 2011Baseball Prospectus
Baseball Prospectus is an organization that publishes a website, BaseballProspectus.com, devoted to the sabermetric analysis of baseball. BP has a staff of regular columnists and provides advanced statistics as well player and team performance projections on the site...
reported that he was "a compact athlete who works the count, and consistently barrels up balls with enough power for 15–20 home runs annually in the big leagues." Indians Manager Manny Acta
Manny Acta
Manuel Elias Acta is a Major League Baseball manager for the Cleveland Indians. He is the former manager of the Washington Nationals . In the Dominican Winter League, he managed the Tigres del Licey from 2002–2004, including leading them to victory at the 2003 Caribbean Series...
described him as: "a blue collar
Blue collar
Blue collar can refer to:*Blue-collar worker, a traditional designation of the working class*Blue-collar crime, the types of crimes typically associated with the working class*A census designation...
, dirt bag, run-through-a-wall, relentless type of guy." Writer John Sickels
John Sickels
John Sickels is an American baseball writer, formerly of ESPN.com, who specializes in minor league baseball and amateur baseball.-Biography:...
said he is "quite strong and has plenty of bat speed. His feel for the strike zone is impressive, and he has no problem generating power. He seems to handle both fastballs and breaking stuff well, makes adjustments, and can handle left-handed pitching just fine."
Baseball Prospectus ranked him as the 28th-highest prospect in baseball (".300 hitter, with 12–18 home runs"), and the best in the organization. Jim Bowden
Jim Bowden
-Early life and career:Bowden was born in Boston, MA and raised in Weston, Massachusetts and Boothbay Harbor, ME. He graduated from Rollins College in 1983 with a B.A. degree in Communications and Business Administration. He was the Sports Director at the College radio station as well doing the...
ranked him the 39th-best prospect in baseball ("He made great progress defensively this past year, and there is no doubt he should be a .300, 15 HR, 70 RBI type offensive 2B in the future"). Baseball America
Baseball America
Baseball America is a magazine which covers baseball at every level, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in high school, college, Japan, and the minor leagues. It is currently published in the form of a bi-weekly newspaper, five annual reference book titles, a weekly podcast, and a...
initially ranked him as the 54th-best prospect in baseball (and the 2nd-best second base prospect, as well as the 2nd-best prospect in the Indians organization), but by mid-season had increased their rating of him to the 31st-best in the minors.
In 2011, Kipnis was named the Indians Minor League Player of the Week for June 26 – July 2, after batting .500 with 2 home runs and a .581 on-base percentage, in a season in which he was so far 11-for-11 in stolen base attempts. At the time, Kipnis was leading the International League in runs scored (60) and triples (9), was 2nd in OPS (.914), 4th in slugging percentage (.525), 5th in on-base percentage (.389), tied for 6th in RBIs (50), tied for 7th in hits (90), 12th in average (.305), tied for 15th in stolen bases (11), and tied for 19th in HRs (11). On July 4 he was also named the International League Player of the Week.
Kipnis represented the Cleveland Indians in the 2011 All-Star Futures Game
All-Star Futures Game
The All-Star Futures Game is an annual baseball exhibition game between a team of top minor league prospects from the United States and a team of prospects from other parts of the World...
on July 10, hitting a 95-mph fastball for a home run in his first at bat, leading off the bottom of the first inning for the United States. He was also named to the International League All-Star team, and doubled and walked in the game on July 13.
On July 22, 2011, Kipnis was called up from the AAA Columbus Clippers
Columbus Clippers
The Columbus Clippers are a minor league baseball team based in Columbus, Ohio. The team plays in the International League and is the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The team is owned by the government of Franklin County, Ohio....
to the Cleveland Indians. At the time, he was leading the International league in triples (9), was 2nd in runs scored (64), 7th in total bases (164), 10th in walks (44/tied), 12th in RBIs (55), and 17th in stolen bases (12; in 13 attempts).
Cleveland Indians (2011–present)
He made his major league debut on July 23, 2011, starting at second base against the Chicago White SoxChicago White Sox
The Chicago White Sox are a Major League Baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois.The White Sox play in the American League's Central Division. Since , the White Sox have played in U.S. Cellular Field, which was originally called New Comiskey Park and nicknamed The Cell by local fans...
. His first career hit came in his next game, two days later – a game-winning walk-off single with the bases loaded
Bases loaded
In the sport of baseball, the bases are loaded when there is a runner on each base . This presents a great scoring opportunity for the batting team, but it also presents an easy double play opportunity for the defense. Causing the bases to become loaded is called loading the bases...
and two outs in the ninth inning, defeating the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
.
On August 3, Kipnis became the first Indians second baseman to hit a home run in four consecutive games, and the only Indian other than former Indians MVP Al Rosen
Al Rosen
Albert Leonard Rosen , nicknamed "Al", "Flip", and the "Hebrew Hammer", is a former American professional baseball player who was a third baseman and right-handed slugger in the Major Leagues for ten seasons in tthe 1940s and 1950s.He played his entire 10-year career with the Cleveland Indians in...
to do so in his rookie year. It was the first time in major league history that a player had homered in four consecutive games within the first two weeks of debuting in the majors.
On August 10, Kipnis had a five-hit, four-run game, the first time a rookie had done so since Jim Fridley
Jim Fridley
James Riley Fridley was an American professional baseball player. During his Major League Baseball career, he was backup outfielder, playing mostly at left field for three different teams between 1952 and 1958. Nicknamed "Big Jim," Fridley was listed at and and batted and threw right-handed...
in 1952. Kipnis suffered a mild to moderate right hamstring strain while stretching prior to a mid-August game against the White Sox, went on the disabled list
Disabled list
In Major League Baseball, the disabled list is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players.-General guidelines:...
, and was expected to miss three weeks.
External links
- Arizona State Sun Devils bio
- University of Kentucky bio
- Cotuit Kettleers bio
- Kip's Korner…, Indians prospect Jason Kipnis shares his Arizona Fall League experience, MLB Pro Blog
- Facebook page