To say Justin Upton is hot would be the understatement of the season so far.
The first overall pick in 2005, who was at times criticized by scouts in the low Class A Midwest League for not playing to his full capacity last year, spent just five weeks at high Class A Visalia before being promoted to Double-A.
And nobody’s criticizing the 19-year-old these days.
Since landing in Mobile, Upton has destroyed Southern League pitching, going 5-for-10 with four home runs and driving in 10. That’s been good news for the BayBears, who had won just five games in May prior to Upton’s arrival.
“Nothing fazes this kid,” Mobile manager Brett Butler said. “Absolutely nothing. He’s on a mission.”
It’s not like Upton especially tore up the California League before catching a plane to the deep South. But it’s not like he was exactly middle-of-the-road either.
In 126 at-bats with the Oaks, Upton batted .341/.433/.540 with five home runs—all of which came in succession from April 25-29. But it was the on-base percentage that caught Diamondbacks farm director A.J. Hinch’s eye the most.
“I think he was really just learning his craft, learning the grind of what it’s like to play a full-season schedule last year,” Hinch said. “I went in (to Visalia) to check on him about 10 days ago and it was pretty impressive.
