Three Holes in B.J. Upton's Swing
Bill Chuck | Tuesday, February 12, 2013 at 9:32AM
There are many reasons for Atlanta Braves fans to be very excited about the future outfield of the B.J. Upton, Justin Upton, and Jason Heyward. But before they get too carried away, when we take a look under the hood at B.J., there certainly seems to be some missing parts.
Over the course of his career, B.J. is a .255 hitter and it's not like he's getting better. Over the last four seasons, he's only hit .242. In fact, he and Humberto Quintero are the only players to hit between .230 and .250 each of the last four seasons.
Here are the holes in B.J. Upton's swing
On pitches up in the zone, Upton has hit .187.
On pitches away, Upton has .190.
On sliders, Upton has hit .191 since 2009.
The point here is that of course when you get a pitch in Upton's wheelhouse he will punish you, but there are numerous opportunities to fool Upton and I'm certain the knowledge from American League pitchers will very quickly spread among NL pitchers.
Braves | tagged B.J. Upton, Jason Heyward, Justin Upton
Reader Comments (2)
The brothers Justin and B.J. will motivate each other and have the best season of their career's. Just wait. The holes in B.J.'s swing will close up when he sees his little brother hitting 280 to 300.
Throw up a replacement league player's heat zone to make a comparison.