When the ability to run faster than everyone else on the field is your main asset, tearing a hamstring almost completely off the bone is one of the last things you’d want to have happen.
It happened to Matt Lipka two years ago, and it’s one reason the former first-round supplemental draft pick still hasn’t played above Single-A after parts of four seasons in the minor leagues.
The former Texas two-sport high school star — he had drawers full of major-college football offers as a wide receiver — is healthy now and as fast as ever, and Lipka has begun to grasp and refine a better hitting approach. He showed during the early weeks of major league spring training why the Braves believe he’s still a solid major league prospect.
“Oh, yeah. Absolutely,” Braves general Frank Wren said. “He’s made the transition from the infield to center field. We’ve seen what he can do in center field with the range and making plays. We’ve also seen on the basepaths what his speed can do. Those are the kinds of athletes we’re trying to get in the game.”
Lipka is on the Future Stars team of Braves prospects set to face the major league Braves at 2 p.m. Saturday at State Mutual Stadium in Rome. The game has become an annual event for manager Fredi Gonzalez’s team between the conclusion of the Grapefruit League schedule and opening day. The Braves open the season Monday at Milwaukee.
The prospects squad will be managed again by Braves icon Bobby Cox, who’ll be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in July. The team includes four of the top eight Braves prospects as rated by Baseball America, including the No. 1, pitcher Lucas Sims, a first-round draft pick out of Brookwood High in 2012.
No. 4-rated Jason Hursh, last year’s first-round draft pick, out of Oklahoma State, is scheduled to start Saturday’s game for the prospects after he impressed everyone, including Cox, during his time in major league camp this spring.
The roster also features shortstop Jose Peraza, rated the No. 6 Braves prospect after he hit .288 with a .341 on-base percentage, eight triples and 64 stolen bases last season for low-A Rome; and catcher/third baseman Victor Caratini, a second-round pick in last year’s draft who hit .290 with 25 extra-base hits and a .415 OBP in 58 games at rookie league Danville.
Lipka slipped from No. 6-rated Braves prospect after his first pro season in 2010 to No. 24 this winter. The converted former shortstop played only 58 games at high-A Lynchburg in 2012 because of the hamstring injury, which was so severe it required surgery to re-attach the muscle.
Lipka went back for a second season at Lynchburg in 2013 and hit only .251 with a .205 OBP, but had 41 extra-base hits (seven triples) and 37 stolen bases in 131 games. He got leaner and stopped power lifting with his legs after the surgery. He also worked with hitting instructors during the minor league season and Braves coaches during spring training to understand the importance of hitting the ball on the ground to utilize his speed, since that’s his ticket if he’s to reach the majors.
“I have deep football roots, so I have been raw with baseball,” Lipka said. “I have a lot to learn, especially hitting-wise. Before I just based it off athleticism, really. In high school, once the season was over I got ready for my football season. So all this, just the baseball stuff every day, has been new to me.
“Now I know my hitting approach — my misses need to be on the ground. That’s something that as I’m getting older I’m starting to realize. I added more power into my game last year, but this year I’m going to go back to my misses being on the ground.”
