A (very) early assessment of the Upton era

Green Valley News

One at-bat during Saturday’s game in Washington symbolized why every Southern Arizona baseball fan is enthralled by the possibilities of the Justin Upton era.

Upton, now hitting fifth in the Arizona batting order, had already shown the baseball world what he was capable of after nearly hitting for the cycle in his third major league start.

Washington Nationals’ rookie pitcher John Lannan went into the fourth inning matching zeroes with D-backs’ ace Brandon Webb.

After Eric Byrnes singled and stole second, Upton confidently stepped into the batter’s box.

Lannan tried to get the young phenom to chase a few pitches out of the zone, but Upton is a remarkably disciplined hitter for his age.

Lannan tried to sneak a tailing fastball on the outside part of the plate, but Upton connected and drove the ball over the second baseman into centerfield.

Nobody had any idea how hard Upton hit the ball until the topspin took hold. Like a Roger Federer forehand, the ball picked up speed after it hit the ground.

However, the speed paled in comparison to the velocity at which Upton was moving through the base paths.

Unlike most speedsters, it hardly appears as if Upton is even breaking a sweat when he runs the bases. He takes long strides and covers more ground per step than anyone on the roster.

Upton’s RBI triple turned out to be the difference in the 1-0 D-backs win.

This at-bat highlighted Upton’s three main strengths—blazing speed, surprising power and uncanny plate discipline.

In his two-week professional career, the 19-year-old Upton is hitting .273. Seven of his 12 hits have been for extra bases—three doubles, three triples and a home run.

After the Aug. 7 game where Upton was one single away from hitting for the cycle, All-Star second baseman Orlando Hudson told The Associated Press, “I’ll tell you right now, you might want to start rewriting the records and putting his name right below A-Rod and Griffey when they were 19.”

Of course, it hasn’t been a walk in the park for Upton.

He’s endured his fair share of struggles, including his infamous two-error performance in right field against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Aug. 4.

Upton is a physically gifted athlete, but he struggles mightily in the field at this stage in his career. He misjudges fly balls and often misses the cut-off man.

These are problems that will work themselves out with experience, but Upton’s fielding gaffes have been a liability as the D-backs attempt to secure the National League West division crown.

Also, like any 19-year-old big-leaguer, he struggles with consistency.

While he’ll spend most of his at-bats fighting off pitches and working the count, he will occasionally try to hit the ball out of the ballpark instead of making solid contact.

During Tuesday’s horrible 14-5 loss to the Florida Marlins, Upton swung wildly and had a lot of difficulty picking his spots against Dontrelle Willis. He went 0-for-5 with four strikeouts.

However, the plusses have definitely outweighed the minuses during the early stages of Upton’s potentially special career.

“Every time he’s up there you feel like something good is going to happen,” manager Bob Melvin said.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747