[新聞]Upton Coming
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Ultratalented Upton on fast track to D-backs
By Jerry Crasnick
ESPN.com
SAN FRANCISCO -- If Monday is Chris Berman Day and Tuesday belongs to season-
ticket holders and corporate fat cats at the All-Star Game, Sunday is the
province of scouts and general managers with more long-term horizons.
These guys know their way around a Baseball America Prospect Handbook and can
tell a Mobile BayBear from a Montgomery Biscuit.
Two scouts were in the stands watching batting practice Sunday when the
discussion turned to Justin Upton, center-field prodigy in the Arizona
Diamondbacks' chain. Upton, playing for Arizona's Double-A Mobile club at age
19, was among the youngest players to appear in this year's All-Star Futures
Game.
There's only one smudge on Upton's player profile, and it can't be measured on
the 20-80 scouts' rating scale. When Upton hit .263 with 12 home runs for South
Bend in the Midwest League in his professional debut in 2006, the consensus was
that he coasted at times and seemed a little too content to get by on his
natural ability.
You can probably file that observation under "passe." Florida's Hanley Ramirez
heard similar things as a young shortstop in the Boston chain, and it didn't
prevent him from winning the National League Rookie of the Year award in 2006.
"When your bat is that live, I guess people have to pick on something," said an
American League scout. "Just ask the general managers who say that stuff what
kind of reports their scouts are turning in on him. I think they'd take him."
Upton, the younger brother of Tampa Bay second baseman B.J. Upton, has been the
subject of "phenom" talk since he played in the prestigious Area Code Games
showcase at 14. The Diamondbacks validated the hype by choosing him first
overall in the 2005 draft and signing him to a record $6.1 million bonus.
Upton has proved to be a fast tracker, churning through low-A and high-A ball
before graduating to the Southern League in May. He has hit .318 with 13 homers
and 52 RBIs in his two stops this season, and generated lots of superlatives
for his impressive blend of power, speed and hitting acumen.
"He can hurt you in every way possible," said Jay Bruce, a top prospect in the
Cincinnati chain. "If you hit a ball to center field, you better hit it a long
way because he has a chance to run it down. And he just hits, period. He does
it all."
In spring training, Arizona general manager Josh Byrnes recalled an at-bat in
which Upton mis-hit the ball and still drove it 400-plus feet over the center-
field fence for a home run. Upton has the kind of fluid swing and natural pop
that tend to attract a crowd around the batting cage.
"The ball jumps off his bat," said Don Money, manager of Milwaukee's Huntsville
affiliate in the Southern League. "There's an old saying that a kid needs 2,000
at-bats in the minors before you can really form an opinion. Well, I don't think
he's going to get any 2,000 at-bats."
If all goes well, the Diamondbacks could bring Upton up for a September cameo
and give him a legitimate crack at a starting job next spring. The operative
question is, where?
Chris Young is a natural flier in center field, and it's hard to envision the
Diamondbacks wasting those wheels in left. Carlos Quentin, who was supposed to
have the right-field job locked up by now, is in Triple-A ball trying to work
through his problems, and multitalented Carlos Gonzalez is playing in Mobile's
outfield alongside Upton.
The Diamondbacks are so awash in young talent, they're considered long shots to
re-sign Eric Byrnes, who is having a fine season in his free agent "walk" year.
Scouts agree that Upton has the requisite arm strength to handle right field.
He showed it by uncorking a strong throw that elicited plenty of "ahhs" during
the U.S. squad's 7-2 loss to the World team Sunday.
That was nothing compared with the charge he put into the crowd in the third
inning, when he turned on a 96-mph fastball from White Sox prospect Fautino
De Los Santos and hit a tracer into the left-field seats at AT&T Park. The swing
made a distinct impression on U.S. team manager Dave Winfield.
"Some other guys hit balls out today that didn't sound like home runs," Winfield
said. "That sounded like a home run."
Upton carries himself with the poise of a player who has been around a while,
and he clearly has benefited from watching his brother's growing pains in Tampa
Bay. B.J. Upton bounced from one position to another before finally settling in
at second base for the Devil Rays. He's hitting .320 in 200 at-bats this season.
Justin, selected a year after the Diamondbacks drafted Stephen Drew, switched
from shortstop to the outfield and is destined to stay there for the long haul.
Right now, it's simply a matter of refinement. He's receiving help in the fine
art of outfield play from Mobile manager and former major leaguer Brett Butler.
After fiddling around with a number of stances last year, Upton has concentrated
on taking a more consistent approach this season. He also spent a lot of time
this past winter working on flexibility drills and other exercises to enhance
his durability.
Waiting for the call isn't easy when you're this talented, but Upton is
determined to be as close as he can to a finished product when the Diamondbacks
decide he's ready. He heard the criticisms after the 2006 season and was
determined not to repeat the experience.
"I learned something last year," Upton said. "It was my first full season in pro
ball. I'm not using that as an excuse, but I figured some things out that I
could fix this year."
The 2005 draft produced a mother lode of outfielders. Upton, Bruce, Detroit's
Cameron Maybin, Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury and St. Louis' Colby Rasmus all
appeared in this year's Futures Game and are regarded as potential All-Stars if
they continue to progress.
The old-timers sure seem to appreciate Upton's game. Arizona coach Kirk Gibson
called Upton a "19-year-old sponge" in spring training because of the way he
asks questions and retains information, and Winfield predicted big things for
the kid down the road.
"I can see why he was drafted high," Winfield said. "He seems to have a feel for
the game. I watched him in batting practice and the outfield, and he has the
tools. If he keeps his head on straight and listens to folks and continues to
grow, he'll be all right."
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※ 編輯: abc12812 來自: 140.112.25.133 (07/10 00:04)
※ 編輯: abc12812 來自: 140.112.25.133 (07/10 00:05)
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