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Fantasy Baseball: Early Mock Draft-Round 2, Pick 2

Arizona Diamondbacks' Justin Upton, right, comes into the dugout after scoring after Augie Ojeda was walked by Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher James McDonald with the bases loaded during the 10th inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 31, 2009, in Los Angeles. The Diamondbacks won 5-3. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

Danny Moloshok - AP

5 months ago: Arizona Diamondbacks' Justin Upton, right, comes into the dugout after scoring after Augie Ojeda was walked by Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher James McDonald with the bases loaded during the 10th inning of a baseball game, Monday, Aug. 31, 2009, in Los Angeles. The Diamondbacks won 5-3. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok)

This was not an easy pick for me, as I considered Carl Crawford, Evan Longoria, Mark Teixeira and Mark Reynolds, but I couldn't get away from the upside of J-Up-Justin Upton.

Upton went 26-86-20-.300-..366-.532-.899 in 2009 while watching his K% drop from 34% in 2008 to 26% in 2009. His HR/FB% increased from 15.3% in 2008 to 18.8% in 2009 which coincided with a drop in his FB% from 41.9% in 2008 to 35.7% in 2009. Upton also increased his ISO, or isolated power, from .213 in 2008 to .232 in 2009. Should he be able to maintain his HR/FB% while increasing his FB%, he could easily hit 30 HRs in 2010. I think he can do better than that actually.

Upton not only provided fantasy owners with solid power, but he also contributed 20 SBs in 2009 after stealing only 1 bag in 2008. I think the speed is here to stay as the Diamondbacks struggled to score runs in 2009, and I think that trend continues in 2010. I expect Upton to steal between 20-25 bags in 2010.

Upton is capable of a 30-100-20-.300 season in 2010, and should be drafted accordingly.

0 recs  |  Comment 2 comments |

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NOOOOOOOOOOOO

Damnit. I was contemplating drafting Upton over Lincecum but figured I could wait for one more turn!

by Ian, yo on Nov 25, 2009 3:16 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

J-Up!

Upton is one of 2 potential keepers I am deciding between, the other is Aaron Hill. I can only keep one, in lieu of my 6th rd draft pick. I am strongly leaning towards Upton b/c he is obviously on the way up with seemingly limitless potential, whereas Hill likely had a career year in ’09. Upton seems a pretty damn good value in the 6th round…

by slowbutspeeding on Dec 17, 2009 3:27 PM EST reply actions   0 recs

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