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{Arizona Republic}
Since the start of the 2009 season, Upton has 91 homers, 77 stolen bases, 310 RBIs and 369 runs scored.
You know how many major-league players have equaled or exceeded those numbers? One: Milwaukee outfielder Ryan Braun.
Delete runs, which more often than not are the byproduct of the next few hitters in the lineup, and only Braun, Colorado’s Carlos Gonzalez and Matt Kemp of the Dodgers have been as productive.
Use the more modern slash line — batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage — as the common measure, and Upton ranks 16th among major-leaguers.
Oh, did we mention he’s 25 years old and presumably has his best years ahead of him?
Yes, we know. Upton has been maddeningly inconsistent in his four full seasons with the D-Backs. His eye-popping ’09 season as a 21-year-old — 26 homers, 86 RBIs, 20 stolen bases, a .300 batting average — was followed by a 2010 campaign in which he hit .273 with 17 homers and 69 RBIs.
In 2011, he finished fourth in the National League MVP balloting after hitting .289 with 31 homers, 88 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. Last year: .280, 17 homers, 67 RBIs, 18 stolen bases. In context, however, the numbers look different, particularly in examining Upton’s down 2012 season.
Upton injured his left thumb in the season-opening series against the San Francisco Giants and wore a pad to protect it until late August. He refused to go on the disabled list, even though the injury robbed him of his usual power.
With the pad off in September and October, he looked like the Upton of a year before: He hit .304, with six homers, 14 RBIs and five steals in 29 games. His slugging percentage was .522, nearly matching his .529 mark in ’11.
The Diamondbacks know Upton was playing hurt. They also know he’s their most physically gifted offensive player and that, when healthy, he’s capable of putting together a string of monster seasons. Yet it seems a foregone conclusion he’ll be traded before spring training.
Since the start of the 2009 season, Upton has 91 homers, 77 stolen bases, 310 RBIs and 369 runs scored.
You know how many major-league players have equaled or exceeded those numbers? One: Milwaukee outfielder Ryan Braun.
Delete runs, which more often than not are the byproduct of the next few hitters in the lineup, and only Braun, Colorado’s Carlos Gonzalez and Matt Kemp of the Dodgers have been as productive.
Use the more modern slash line — batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage — as the common measure, and Upton ranks 16th among major-leaguers.
Oh, did we mention he’s 25 years old and presumably has his best years ahead of him?
Yes, we know. Upton has been maddeningly inconsistent in his four full seasons with the D-Backs. His eye-popping ’09 season as a 21-year-old — 26 homers, 86 RBIs, 20 stolen bases, a .300 batting average — was followed by a 2010 campaign in which he hit .273 with 17 homers and 69 RBIs.
In 2011, he finished fourth in the National League MVP balloting after hitting .289 with 31 homers, 88 RBIs and 21 stolen bases. Last year: .280, 17 homers, 67 RBIs, 18 stolen bases. In context, however, the numbers look different, particularly in examining Upton’s down 2012 season.
Upton injured his left thumb in the season-opening series against the San Francisco Giants and wore a pad to protect it until late August. He refused to go on the disabled list, even though the injury robbed him of his usual power.
With the pad off in September and October, he looked like the Upton of a year before: He hit .304, with six homers, 14 RBIs and five steals in 29 games. His slugging percentage was .522, nearly matching his .529 mark in ’11.
The Diamondbacks know Upton was playing hurt. They also know he’s their most physically gifted offensive player and that, when healthy, he’s capable of putting together a string of monster seasons. Yet it seems a foregone conclusion he’ll be traded before spring training.
