Toronto Blue Jays: 5 Things to Know About Melvin Upton Jr.
2) Upton has Legitimate Power, but Strikes Out A Lot
Upton has hit 16 home runs this year while playing the majority of his games in pitcher-friendly parks like Petco Park, Dodger Stadium and AT&T Park in San Francisco. This isn’t to say Upton will have some sort of power outburst in Toronto, but the raw power is there for him to mash a majestic shot or two.
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The counter side to Upton’s swing is that he can be too aggressive at the plate sometimes and he has a propensity to strikeout, which is evident by his 28.3 percent strikeout rate. That rate ranks 10th-highest in the majors, and when you use BrooksBaseball.net’s “Hitter-At-A-Glance” tool, it’s very unlikely Upton’s habit of striking out will change.
According to BrooksBaseball.net, Upton has seen 1,042 fastballs this season and has a swing and miss rate of 30 percent on those pitches. On breaking balls, he swings and misses at a very high 45 percent.
In other words, the power will be there, but so too will his aggressive plate approach, which leads to a high volume of strikeouts. Get your sombreros ready, Blue Jays fans.
Next: Speed and Defence