D-backs’ top prospect has solid feel for pitching

With the big league rotation in disarray, the D-backs have decided to get some help from the farm system by calling up No. 1 prospect Braden Shipley to start on Monday. Whether it’s more than a one-start stopgap remains to be seen, but here is what to expect from the right-hander.

The No. 58 prospect on MLBPipeline.com’s current Top 100 list, Shipley was the D-backs’ top pick in the 2013 Draft, taken 15th overall out of the University of Nevada. Scouts loved that Shipley had a fresh arm as a shortstop who didn’t start pitching until his sophomore year of college but who also had a solid feel for pitching.

He has made a steady climb up the ladder, pitching at three levels in 2014 (in addition to making the Futures Game), his first full season of pro ball. He spent all of 2015 in Double-A, really turning it on in the second half to look more like the top pitching prospect that he is currently in the system. He’s pitched well overall in a move up to Triple-A this season.

Keeping in mind that Reno, his home ballpark, can be a very tough place for …

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