Upton doesn't belong in the big leagues. Yeah, I said it.

[JS22]

Just a little venting on my part, but clearly he is not ready for prime time. I have never seen a player screw up so many times on fairly routine plays in the outfield. Also, he struggles at the plate with any sort of breaking ball - leading into double plays.

Salazar is much more polished and deserves to start in RF from here on out in my opinion. Sure, Salazar is probably never going to be a superstar, but the Diamondbacks are in a pennant race and cannot afford to have Upton learning on the job, while making terrible plays that cost the team games.

And to be honest, I'd rather give Quentin more time as well. He's at least above average in the field and there's a chance that hit hitting stroke could return. (His stroke is not much worse than Upton anyways.) I'm afraid that the Dbacks have given up on Quentin and he's going to "figure things out" in a year or two elsewhere.

To put it simply: Upton is NOT READY.

 

[Nasser22]

Well yeah, he just turned 20. I think Salazar will get most of the starts the rest of the way as he has been, but I like to have Upton play now. Get the rookie blunders out of you before we are real contenders.

 

[Ryanwb]

Yeah, he didn't take off like everyone (including me) thought he would. He had a fantastic start but got figured out really quick.

 

[spikecop02]

He still learning, i think he is doing decent though he had made alot of mistakes, Sundays 2run Hr was big. And last night is abat was huge down 1-2 he worked the walk to get to Salazar.

 

[crisper57]

I'd like to see Carlos get another shot. Last time he got an at-bat, he got an RBI single.

Upton is a defensive liability. He takes really bad angles to the ball.

Salazar is good, but I think he is hurt and may have lost a step until his injury heals.

 

[Rab]

His defense has left something to be desired yes, but he isn't playing that bad. Look at Mark Reynolds who was destroying the ball when he first got up to the bigs. Then, pitchers figured him out. Same with Upton, but Upton is only 20, and has shown me that he can be much more patient, and he usually put the ball in play. You can however, see the potential for something great in him, and he hasn't been near as bad as Quentin at the plate.

Give him a full spring training to get more used to right field and I think you'll be surprised next season. This experience will be a very good learning tool for him.

 

[JS22]

His defense has left something to be desired yes, but he isn't playing that bad. Look at Mark Reynolds who was destroying the ball when he first got up to the bigs. Then, pitchers figured him out. Same with Upton, but Upton is only 20, and has shown me that he can be much more patient, and he usually put the ball in play. You can however, see the potential for something great in him, and he hasn't been near as bad as Quentin at the plate.

Give him a full spring training to get more used to right field and I think you'll be surprised next season. This experience will be a very good learning tool for him.

I'd like for him to get 1 year in AAA, then come back up. Though I do agree with you. He'll probably be much improved after a full offseason and spring training. I'm just worried that his inexperience is going to cost the Diamondbacks another game. Because, to be honest, he was the main reason Arizona just lost a game in the standings.

I just don't think it's wise to have a player learning on the job while you're in the final month of a pennant race.

 

[DWKB]

Seems like a thread that shoulda been created in Aug (659 OPS) as opposed to Sept (941 OPS).

As for him being the main reason the DBacks lost the game last night, Tony Clark says hello!

 

[JS22]

Seems like a thread that shoulda been created in Aug (659 OPS) as opposed to Sept (941 OPS).

As for him being the main reason the DBacks lost the game last night, Tony Clark says hello!

Yeah, Clark shouldn't have tried to stretch it.

But hitting into a double play with the bases loaded, completely whiffing on a ball in the outfield which lead to extra bases, and then hitting into ANOTHER double play to end the game is pretty bad.

 

[DWKB]

Yeah, Clark shouldn't have tried to stretch it.

Well hell, that was his best AB of the night (laughing), a DP and 2 Ks for the other ABs. Really though, both Clark and Upton have done well this month and had one bad game that should just be thrown out. Bad games happen.

 

[TucsonDevil]

Upton doesn't show quite the patience he did in his first few games. It seemed that he just waited for a pitch to hit at first... now, he swings to hit pitches. See the subtle difference?

 

[Rab]

Upton doesn't show quite the patience he did in his first few games. It seemed that he just waited for a pitch to hit at first... now, he swings to hit pitches. See the subtle difference?

I'm not going to disagree with you, but I think part of that is the way teams pitch to him now. There is more of a scouting report on him, especially after the way he was scorching the ball the first 2 weeks they called him up. Young players also tend to lose that patience when they start going into a slump as well. They press a little, and the results usually aren't good. The good news however is that he has been better this month. I think it's a good learning experience for him as he tries to work his way out of slumps.

Well hell, that was his best AB of the night (laughing), a DP and 2 Ks for the other ABs. Really though, both Clark and Upton have done well this month and had one bad game that should just be thrown out. Bad games happen.

I agree here. It's not like he's the first player to cost us a game on defense. Remember the Rockies game a couple weeks ago where CY tried to make a play on a fly ball and let it get behind him which allowed Colorado to tie the game, and then win in extras?

There was a game earlier this year where Byrnes made a bad judgement on the ball and it allowed the eventual game winner as well.

Tony Clark keeps saying, "Anyone, anytime." I guess that can apply to defensive errors as well.

 

[mjb21aztd]

I think Upton will have a good mlb carrer but he does need a lot more training in the outfield, and some help at reading pitches. But he has also shown some promise while at the mlb lvl so i'm looking forward to watching him a few years down the road he will be a amazing player

 

[82CardsGrad]

Upton can be a future STUD in this league... Offensively, he's ready for the bigs and should remain up with the big boys. Defensively, he certainly shows some pretty bad techinique and instinct. But I also gotta believe it would help him a ton of the D-backs placed in one position and left him there.

 

[just do it]

they should slide him right into the 2nd base job. none of the Sept call ups can be on the playoff roster so someone needs to play there.

 

[DWKB]

they should slide him right into the 2nd base job. none of the Sept call ups can be on the playoff roster so someone needs to play there.

Hasn't the Upton to 2B thing been driven into the ground already? Do you really want him learning 2B on the fly in for the stretch run? Ojeda and Callaspo are both playoff eligible. I think they can man 2B just fine in O-Dog's absence.

 

[JS22]

Hasn't the Upton to 2B thing been driven into the ground already? Do you really want him learning 2B on the fly in for the stretch run? Ojeda and Callaspo are both playoff eligible. I think they can man 2B just fine in O-Dog's absence.

Upton was a natural SS in the minors. So I'm assuming he's played 2B from time to time. I'd rather have him playing an infield position than RF at this point. He's at least familiar with the infield.

 

[Matt L]

I gotta agree with 82. He definitely has a big league swing and there is going to be alot that he has to learn at the show that he can't down on the farm. I think they should trade Quentin for anything they can get for him. He has way too much movement in his stance for me.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Upton was a natural SS in the minors. So I'm assuming he's played 2B from time to time. I'd rather have him playing an infield position than RF at this point. He's at least familiar with the infield.

Upton hasn't played an inning of either SS or 2B in the minor leagues, to my knowledge.

 

[DWKB]

Upton hasn't played an inning of either SS or 2B in the minor leagues, to my knowledge.

No, Upton was a SS in High School, not the minors. I somehow doubt he logged much time at 2B on any level of significance.

 

[green machine]

Upton hasn't played an inning of either SS or 2B in the minor leagues, to my knowledge.

I don't think he had played any RF either until they put him out there. That's a big reason why he struggles in the field.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

I don't think he had played any RF either until they put him out there. That's a big reason why he struggles in the field.

He did, but not that much. It probably does contribute a bit to his struggles like you are saying though.

 

[JS22]

I could swear that I've heard the broadcasters talk about Upton playing SS in the minors up until very recently.

I may be wrong however.

 

[Lefty]

I could swear that I've heard the broadcasters talk about Upton playing SS in the minors up until very recently.

I may be wrong however.

Upton played shortstop in high school and when he started his minor league career. He was then switched to centerfield.

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Upton played shortstop in high school and when he started his minor league career. He was then switched to centerfield.

He was switched to CF right after signing his contract, he hasn't seen any time at SS since he was playing for his high school team.

Edit: he might have played there a game or two his first spring training, but nothing otherwise. http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/news/26917.html