Justin Upton primed to make a big splash in the majors: with skills that far exceed his inexperience at the major league level. Arizona's rookie outfielder will only get better

Baseball Digest, July, 2008 by Chris Jenkins

UPON JUSTIN UPTON'S APPROACH to the batter's box and introduction to the crowd, you half expect the plate umpire to card him, to check his driver's license for the date of birth: Not to make sure he's 21 or over, mind you.

To the contrary.

"He doesn't appear to be a 20-year-old," said Upton's manager with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Bob Melvin. "That's one of the reasons he was brought up to the big leagues at a young age, because he's beyond his years and could handle it if he didn't get off to a great start and had some failures."

Failures? Has he had any?

"Yeah," said Melvin. "I think he had an 0-for-1 in Cincinnati."

An exaggeration, sure, but not as much of one as you might think when taking Upton's age into account. Still only 19 when summoned to San Diego for his major league debut with the Diamondbacks last August 2, Upton's not only their starting right fielder now, but one of the main reasons Arizona had the best record and mightiest lineup in the early weeks of the 2008 baseball season.

"Who's the guy with the big crowd around his locker?" asked one of his veteran teammates after a recent win. "Oh, must be the Man Child."

Along with Conor Jackson (.350 BA) and Mark Reynolds (seven HR), Upton was a top producer for the Diamondbacks with five homers, 16 RBI and a .346 batting average through the first 30 games of the season. The thing about this much-heralded rookie is that his numbers are great, and still only tell part of the story.

To appreciate the aura around Upton--the first overall pick of the 2005 draft--you need a ticket. At any price.

"Even if he wasn't just 20, he'd be impressive, with that swing and the way he can shoot it the other way," said one scout. "The way the ball comes off his bat, he's got what we call 'easy power.' Good distance with little effort."

For instance, there was his fifth homer of the season, which hardly began with a classic slugger's swing. Once the ball was in the air, though, it kept going until it had bounced high off the center-field wall at Chase Field for a three-run shot.

"He didn't even square it up," said Melvin. "He's got power to all fields, yet he doesn't even have to get the (whole) ball to get it there."

Because of the way the schedule fell early in the year, Upton again put off the considerable challenge of facing Cy Young Award winner Jake Peavy, just as he had on the night of his major league call-up and debut at Petco Park.

Peavy was pitching for the Padres when Upton--having already done enough at Single-A Visalia and Double-A Mobile in the previous couple of months to warrant Minor League Player of the Year awards--joined the Diamondbacks in San Diego. Even with the Padres cruising to an 11-0 romp, Melvin withheld Upton until Peary had been replaced by lefty Wil Ledezma, who induced a pinch-hit foul-out in the ninth for Upton's first big league at-bat.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

"I just remember it went in a flash, a quick at-bat," said Upton, "and how it eased the pressure off my shoulders." That right there is a soliloquy for

Upton. For all the hoopla around him, he's clearly trying to stay rookie-real and maintain a low profile, answering postgame questions with short answers straight out of Nuke LaLoosh. See the ball, hit the ball, and all that.

Oh, but at the plate. He's a rookie only in service time, much more man than child.

Five games into his major league career, Upton not only hit his first homer, but finished the night just a single shy of hitting for the cycle against the Pirates. Upton's play in right field is considerably less eye-popping, but he came into professional baseball as an infielder, was converted to center field in the minors and didn't become a right fielder until 10 days before his call-up.

"When you talk about the upside of this guy and what kind of a player he's going to be down the road, you're getting a bit of a glimpse of it," said Melvin. "Big leagues at 19 years old. Starter at 20. Playoffs the first year. This guy's going to get better and better."

By CHRIS JENKINS

The San Diego Union-Tribune