Post by unnameddbacksfan on Jun 13, 2008 11:46:25 GMT -5
Upton: Fix issues in MLB, or in Triple-A?
by Nick Piecoro - Jun. 12, 2008 05:23 PM
The Arizona Republic
There are likely few players in the major leagues with more pure talent than Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton. Even fewer, perhaps, whose potential value to their organization is greater.
But Upton, being short on both age (20) and major-league experience (355 career at-bats), has slumped badly for the better part of the past four weeks, presenting the Diamondbacks with an age-old baseball dilemma: how best to handle a gifted but struggling young hitter.
When is the right time to pull the plug and send a young player to Triple-A, where he might rediscover his swing and regain his confidence? And when is it best to stand behind a player and let him fight through it in the majors?
With Upton, the Diamondbacks for now are going with the latter, hoping he can get back to hitting the way he did in the season's first month. He was batting .344 on May 8 but since has hit .140 with 43 strikeouts in 93 at-bats.
But the dilemma is nothing organizations haven't pondered countless times over the years. Rare is the player such as Albert Pujols, who arrives in the majors and produces immediately, never seeming to struggle.
Run 'em out there
More common is a player like Upton - or, like his brother, B.J. Upton of the Tampa Bay Rays, or former Diamondbacks outfielder Carlos Quentin, whom the club last season decided to ship to Triple-A in July.
Tampa Bay's Upton reached the majors at 19 and hit .258 in 159 at-bats. He spent all of the next season in the minors, and then hit a soft .246 as a 21-year-old. He established himself last season, at age 22, hitting .300 with 24 home runs.
The Diamondbacks wrestled with sending Quentin down for weeks before finally doing it in July when he was hitting .210. After an off-season trade, Quentin has been one of the American League's better players this season.
As he often does, Diamondbacks General Manager Josh Byrnes cited an example from his early years in baseball, when as a young executive in Cleveland he watched Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome play inconsistently, offensively and defensively, only to turn into marquee players.
"We kept running them out there," Byrnes said, "and were rewarded with the first phase of Hall of Fame careers."
Byrnes believes Upton, who jumped from Double-A to the majors last August, can come back around without having to go to Triple-A.
"Optioning him out isn't that appealing," Byrnes said. "We're committed to him for a reason. We believe in him. Obviously for extended stretches he has shown how good he can be."
Steady youngster
With any young player, manager Bob Melvin said he looks not just at performance on the field but also at how they behave off it.
On the field, an underperforming player can look as if the game is running circles around him.
"You hear a lot about people talking about the game going fast and certain guys being able to slow the game down. Sometimes, a certain younger player is a little more apt to be able to deal with failure, come to the park the next day with a smile on their face. You can tell sometimes when it's taking its toll mentally on a player.
"You don't see that with 'J-Up.' He comes with a smile on his face expecting to do well."
There might be other reasons the club is being more patient with him. For one, a fellow outfielder, Eric Byrnes, is still on the disabled list. Upton is far from the only player struggling on the team. And the Diamondbacks are still a first-place club (thanks to a weak division).
But, in cases like this, there seems to be no right or wrong way to handle it. The decision is a tough one. Especially with a player so talented as Upton
by Nick Piecoro - Jun. 12, 2008 05:23 PM
The Arizona Republic
There are likely few players in the major leagues with more pure talent than Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton. Even fewer, perhaps, whose potential value to their organization is greater.
But Upton, being short on both age (20) and major-league experience (355 career at-bats), has slumped badly for the better part of the past four weeks, presenting the Diamondbacks with an age-old baseball dilemma: how best to handle a gifted but struggling young hitter.
When is the right time to pull the plug and send a young player to Triple-A, where he might rediscover his swing and regain his confidence? And when is it best to stand behind a player and let him fight through it in the majors?
With Upton, the Diamondbacks for now are going with the latter, hoping he can get back to hitting the way he did in the season's first month. He was batting .344 on May 8 but since has hit .140 with 43 strikeouts in 93 at-bats.
But the dilemma is nothing organizations haven't pondered countless times over the years. Rare is the player such as Albert Pujols, who arrives in the majors and produces immediately, never seeming to struggle.
Run 'em out there
More common is a player like Upton - or, like his brother, B.J. Upton of the Tampa Bay Rays, or former Diamondbacks outfielder Carlos Quentin, whom the club last season decided to ship to Triple-A in July.
Tampa Bay's Upton reached the majors at 19 and hit .258 in 159 at-bats. He spent all of the next season in the minors, and then hit a soft .246 as a 21-year-old. He established himself last season, at age 22, hitting .300 with 24 home runs.
The Diamondbacks wrestled with sending Quentin down for weeks before finally doing it in July when he was hitting .210. After an off-season trade, Quentin has been one of the American League's better players this season.
As he often does, Diamondbacks General Manager Josh Byrnes cited an example from his early years in baseball, when as a young executive in Cleveland he watched Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome play inconsistently, offensively and defensively, only to turn into marquee players.
"We kept running them out there," Byrnes said, "and were rewarded with the first phase of Hall of Fame careers."
Byrnes believes Upton, who jumped from Double-A to the majors last August, can come back around without having to go to Triple-A.
"Optioning him out isn't that appealing," Byrnes said. "We're committed to him for a reason. We believe in him. Obviously for extended stretches he has shown how good he can be."
Steady youngster
With any young player, manager Bob Melvin said he looks not just at performance on the field but also at how they behave off it.
On the field, an underperforming player can look as if the game is running circles around him.
"You hear a lot about people talking about the game going fast and certain guys being able to slow the game down. Sometimes, a certain younger player is a little more apt to be able to deal with failure, come to the park the next day with a smile on their face. You can tell sometimes when it's taking its toll mentally on a player.
"You don't see that with 'J-Up.' He comes with a smile on his face expecting to do well."
There might be other reasons the club is being more patient with him. For one, a fellow outfielder, Eric Byrnes, is still on the disabled list. Upton is far from the only player struggling on the team. And the Diamondbacks are still a first-place club (thanks to a weak division).
But, in cases like this, there seems to be no right or wrong way to handle it. The decision is a tough one. Especially with a player so talented as Upton