As the old guy trudges up to the plate and tries to hit just a few more homers before his knees give out on him, a fresh new version just got the call to start his career. When Upton is Barry's age, if things break right he should be looking back at a HOF career. That is quite a bit of hype for guy who doesn't turn 20 until Aug 25 and has yet to garner one single plate appearance in the major leagues, but when your about to play RF at 19 the imagination does tend to run away with you. When you watch him hit, run, hit with power, and throw, your scared if your a Dodger fan, very very scared. One Upton could trump all the good things the Dodgers have going. Our only hope is that Boras is his agent and they start the clock early and he's on the Yankee's before his peak years.
The 19 year old Upton has quite a load on his shoulders. Not only is he carrying the weight of the Ken Griffey Junior comparisons but his team is now the frontrunner in a tight NL West Division fight. I was lucky enough to watch him play in the futures game earlier this year and he was the best player on the field before, during, and after the game. A real 5 tool talent whose only nick against him so far has been boredom with the talent level he's facing. Upton is currently posting a 965 OPS in a tough Southern league for hitters. He doesn't have to do much to give the Diamondbacks a lift, as their RF play has been the worse in baseball this season. A simple 750-800 OPS will help the Diamondbacks counteract the struggles that Byrnes normally endures during the 2nd half. Quentin with his -9 VORP has been the main culprit but even Hairston who slid to LF when he played with Byrnes sliding to RF was terrible and Salazar and Davannon have also done zippo when given brief chances. Even though he is a Diamondback I'm quite excited to see what Upton will bring to the diamond this weekend. I've never seen a 19 year starting for a pennant contender so this promises to be quite a treat this weekend.