The baseball Vols have several draft eligible players in the 2019 MLB Draft pool, and the first Vol has officially come off the board.
Tennessee third baseman Andre Lipcius has been drafted with the No. 83 overall pick in the third round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Detroit Tigers.
With pick No. 83 in the 2019 #MLBDraft, the #Tigers have selected 3B Andre Lipcius from the University of Tennessee. pic.twitter.com/ioAjqPsvGW
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) June 4, 2019
As a junior for the Vols, Lipcius led the team in hits (73), home runs (17), RBI (58), plate appearances (237), and total bases (139). He was second on the team in runs (51), doubles (15), and walks (31).
Lipcius started at third base in all 61 games for Tennessee this season and helped lead the Vols to the program’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2005.
The Williamsburg, Virginia native earned SEC Player of the Week on May 13th after going 6-for-13 in a road series win over Florida. Lipcius also hit his 14th home run of the season against the Gators.
Coming into the season, Lipcius was ranked the No. 56 overall draft prospect by D1 Baseball.com. Among SEC players, Baseball America rated him the No. 17 draft prospect for the 2019 MLB Draft.
As a freshman in 2017, Lipcius was named a Freshman All-American by Collegiate Baseball after hitting .275 in 52 starts. He also earned SEC All-Freshman honors at UT.
Should Lipcius sign with the Tigers, he finishes his career with a .300 batting average and 25 career home runs. In 633 at-bats, he scored 122 runs, tallied 190 hits, collected 126 RBI, hit 37 doubles, and drew 90 walks. His slugging percentage sits at .483, and he has an on-base percentage of .393 in his UT career.
Having played both third base and shortstop during his time in Knoxville, the 6-foot-1 infielder holds a fielding percentage of .968.
It is expected that Lipcius will sign with the Tigers rather than returning to Tennessee for his final collegiate season. The signing-bonus value for the 83rd pick, according to MLB.com, is $733,100.
Coming out of high school, Lipcius was ranked as the No. 3 shortstop and the No. 19 overall player in the state of Virginia by Perfect Game. At Tennessee, he majored in Nuclear Engineering.
Lipcius’ twin brother, Luc, will be a redshirt junior for the Vols next season after redshirting this year due to a foot injury.
Tennessee has been a pipeline of late for the Detroit Tigers.
Christin Stewart, an outfielder for the Vols from 2013-15, was selected by the Tigers with the 34th overall pick in the first round of the 2015 MLB Draft. Stewart made the 2019 opening day roster and starts in left field. This season, he’s hitting .241 with four home runs and 20 runs driven in.
Former Tennessee infielder A.J. Simcox is a current members of the Tigers’ organization. Simcox was drafted in the 14th round of the 2015 draft and currently plays for Detroit’s Double-A affiliate.
Will Maddox, another former infielder for the Vols, was drafted by the Tigers in the 18th round of the 2014 MLB Draft.
Lipcius is the first Vol to be selected in the first three rounds of the MLB Draft since Nick Senzel was taken No. 2 overall by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2016 MLB Draft. He’s the sixth Vol since the 2009 draft to be taken in the first three rounds.
