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| Height: 6-2
Weight: 205
Throws: R
Bats: R Born: Aug 25, 1987, Norfolk, VA |
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| Player Notes |
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June 19, 2008 Justin Upton hit a tiebreaking home run in the eighth inning, and the Arizona Diamondbacks defeated the Oakland Athletics 2-1 on Thursday afternoon. Our View:With the return of veteran Eric Byrnes from the disabled list soon, Upton's roster spot is in question. The word on the street is that the D'Backs are considering optioning their rookie back to the minors to work on his swing, and his suspect defense. He was out of the lineup on Wednesday and his stock had hit a season low. Upton was hitting .244 with a .783 OPS heading into Thursday's action, and the young outfielder had 84 strikeouts in 225 at-bats (a strikeout every 3.1 AB). The game winning home run came just in time. If he can gain some momentum in Minnesota this weekend he might stave off the demotion. |
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June 12, 2008 Justin Upton is really struggling hitting only .140 with 43 K over his last 93 AB, and there are internal debates going on in the D'backs front office over whether or not Upton should be sent to the minors to work on his problems, according to the Arizona Republic. "Optioning him out isn't that appealing," GM Josh Byrnes said. "We're committed to him for a reason. We believe in him. Obviously for extended stretches he has shown how good he can be." Our View:Upton has been overmatched of late, not that surprising considering he is only 20 years of age and has such limited experience. We can't see the D'backs sending him down right now, but it certainly is a situation worthy of keeping an eye on. In the least, Upton should be on your bench until he proves he hits his way out of his funk. |
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June 1, 2008 Justin Upton was a late scratch on Sunday due to flu-like symptoms, MLB.com reports. Jeff Salazar started in his place. Our View:Hopefully Justin simply needs a day or two to recover. The Diamondbacks play six times in the week ahead, so fantasy owners in smaller mixed leagues may have a tough call to make. |
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May 29, 2008 Justin Upton hit his seventh home run of the season, his first in 17 games, in the D'backs loss to the Giants. Our View:Upton will likely be a decent outfield option the rest of the way, but he clearly isn't ready to be the hitter he was early in the year. Continue to monitor his progress as he should excel against weaker pitching but struggle against top shelf opponents. |
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May 27, 2008 Justin Upton was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts Tuesday night and is in the midst of a 0-for-26 slump with 17 strikeouts. Our View:Upton's hot start wasn't going to last forever. Twenty-year-olds are going to struggle at some point, no matter how talented they may be. |
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May 22, 2008 Justin Upton went 0-for-4 on Thursday to drop his average to .296, the first time it's been under .300 since the third game of the season. Our View:Face it, Upton just isn't ready to be a prime time performer yet. He has only one home run in 35 games, or about as many as Micah Owings, yeah that Owings the pitcher and teammate of Upton. Upton is still a remarkable long term option, but he just hasn't been able to sustain his hot start. |
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May 9, 2008 Justin Upton batted in the cleanup spot for the first time in his Major League career on Thursday, and registered a solo homer, according to the East Valley Tribune. Conor Jackson's absence from the lineup led to the move. Our View:Upton now has six homers and 17 RBI for the season, with a strong .344 average. His fantasy stock remains on the rise. |
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May 5, 2008 Justin Upton was ejected at the end of Sunday's contest with the Mets by home plate umpire Angel Campos, who called Upton out on strikes for the final out of the game, according to the Arizona Republic. Our View:Arizona starts a new series with Philadelphia today. Upton is hitting .346 with five homers, 16 RBI, and 19 runs scored over 30 games, and his fantasy stock remains on the rise. |
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May 3, 2008 Justin Upton went 2-for-2 with one RBI and three walks, and scored three runs in Saturday's 10-4 win over the Mets. Our View:Upton is hitting .346 with five homers, 16 RBI, and 18 runs over 29 games, and his fantasy stock remains on the rise. |
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April 29, 2008 Justin Upton was nursing a leg cramp, but only missed one game due to the ailment, and returned to the lineup on Monday, according to the Arizona Republic. Our View:He went 0-for-3 with a strikeout against Houston on Monday, but fantasy owners are just happy to have him back. He is hitting .323 over 25 games, with five homers and 14 RBI. |
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April 28, 2008 Justin Upton did not start on Sunday because of the hamstring injury he sustained on Saturday, according to The Arizona Republic. Manager Bob Melvin stated, "It's either kind of a deep cramp or a real mild strain." Our View:Upton is expected to be back in the D-Backs' lineup within a few days. Upton was hitting .333 over 90 at-bats, with five homers and 14 RBI, and it took a hamstring injury to slow him down. |
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April 26, 2008 Justin Upton, the 20-year old D'back phenom, had to leave Saturday's game against the Padres when he suffered a leg cramp. Our View:Jeff Salazar replaced him in right field -- while Upton is considered day-to-day. |
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April 23, 2008 Justin Upton has reached base in 18 straight games for Arizona this season, according to the East Valley Tribune. He is hitting .368 (28-for-76) overall, with five homers and 13 RBI, but has struck out 18 times. Manager Bob Melvin commented, "He’s off to an unbelievable start. I don’t know that he hits .370 or .380 over the course of the season, but I know confidence-wise, knowing that he’s getting it done early on, getting it done in our division against good pitching is something to fall back on." Our View:Upton will continue to make strides with Arizona, namely as he cuts down on his strikeouts. Scoop him up if the price is right in your league. |
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April 13, 2008 OF Justin Upton has reached base in 10 consecutive games for the Arizona Diamondbacks. During that stretch, the surging young fielder has hit .459 (17-for-37) with five home runs and 11 RBIs. |
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April 12, 2008 Justin Upton hit his fifth home run of the new year amongst his three hits on Saturday. Upton also knocked in four runs and upped his average to .415. Our View:Upton still is very raw and has a lot to work on at the plate, but his physical gifts have clearly been on display in the early going. |
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April 11, 2008 Justin Upton continued his strong start to the season on Friday night as he hit his fourth home run of the season for the D'Backs. Upton is hitting .368 at the moment, but given the fact that he has 11 K in only 38 AB, it's almost impossible to predict that he will be able to sustain this level of success throughout the course of the season. |
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April 3, 2008 Justin Upton went 1-for-2 with an RBI in a 3-2 loss to Cincinnati on Thursday, and notably collected his first home run of the season. He also drew one walk, and led the club with four total bases today. The youngster is off to a good start. |
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March 26, 2008 Justin Upton had a tough day at the plate against Colorado on Wednesday as he went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, while stranding four men on base. His spring average remains solid at .316 and he should have a firm grip on the starting gig in right field. |
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March 20, 2008 Justin Upton went 3-for-3 with an RBI against the Mariners on Wednesday night. That was his seventh RBI of the spring and he raised his average to .350. He should have a firm grip on the starting gig in right field. |
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March 5, 2008 Justin Upton hit a long home run on Tuesday, and people were still talking about it on Wednesday. “That’s the hardest hit ball I’ve seen in a long time," a scout told the Arizona Republic. "It just kept rising. I saw him do the same thing last year during batting practice." |
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February 25, 2008 Justin Upton appeared to have packed on some muscle over the offseason, according to MLB.com. "He doesn't look like he's 20," manger Bob Melvin said of Upton. "He's got a chance to be a pretty good size. He already is. And he's put together pretty well, too." Upton is slated to start for the D'Backs in right field on opening day, and although he may not fully cash in on his considerable potential this year, he's still not a bad guy to gamble on late in a draft. |