Diamondbacks, Upton Agree to New Deal
The Arizona Diamondbacks continued what has been a popular trend of late by signing Justin Upton, a player whom many see as a potential franchise player in the next couple of years, to a reported six year $51 million contract on Tuesday.
The 22-year old right fielder is coming off a season that saw him post a .300 average and crank out 26 home runs in just 138 games. The biggest knock on Upton right now is his plate discipline and his defense as he struck out 137 times last year and committed 23 errors over the last two seasons in the outfield.
This is a good move for the D-Backs as Upton clearly has the tools to be an elite player in the years to come and should eventually develop into a premiere hitter in the #3 spot once he develops some more plate discipline and learns how to bail himself out when he falls behind in the count. As it is right now he tends to strike out when he falls behind in the count. He also does not hit particularly well with runners in scoring position.
