PG in the Pros: Justin Upton

Justin Upton - 2015 San Diego Padres (Bill Mitchell)

Feature Photo:  Justin Upton, OF, Padres (2015)

 

In our second installment of our “PG in the Pros” series, Perfect Game’s David Rawnsley takes a well-timed look back at Justin Upton, a freshly minted member of the Detroit Tigers after signing a reported six-year, $132 million deal on Monday, January 18.

 

Justin Upton got early exposure to the scouting community simply because of his brother Melvin Upton Jr., who went by “B.J.” back in high school.  In fact, the first time I met Justin Upton was at the 2001 East Professional Showcase while watching his brother play.  When his parents, Melvin and Yvonne, introduced me to their youngest son, then just shy of his 14th birthday, I was amazed by how big and strong his hands were.  In fact, there have only been two young players who I’ve shook hands with and been immediately known they were different.  The other was a 15-year-old Bryce Harper, who had calloused hammers as hands from all the hitting he did.

Scouts, and undoubtedly others around the game, consistently teased the Upton parents about why they only had two kids.  Melvin, who is a talkative and social man, always seemed amused by the question.  Yvonne, a schoolteacher with a more quiet and stern outlook on life than her husband, seemed to just barely endure the friendly banter.

Justin was not only a different type of athlete than his brother, with a compact and very strong build even at a young age as opposed to the long and lean B.J., but he also had much more of his dad’s personality on and off the field as well.

It was obvious from the start that Justin was an elite-level athlete.  He ran a 6.26 at the 2003 Junior Olympics and a 6.23 at the 2004 Perfect Game National Showcase, held at Tropicana Field.  He had superior bat speed and hit mammoth bombs to all fields and consistently performed at a high level in games, including hitting .498 with 27 home runs in three years of high school.  He even stepped on the mound at the 2004 Showcase and threw an inning, touching 94 mph on the gun despite rarely ever having pitched.

The one thing that Upton didn’t have on the baseball field were the natural actions, and especially arm action, of a middle infielder.  While he played shortstop all through high school, it was pretty obvious to most scouts that his future was in the outfield.

Upton was the number one ranked prospect in Perfect Game’s 2005 class list the entire time from the introduction of the list up until the 2005 draft.  He also received the inaugural Jackie Robinson Award as the 2004 Aflac National High School Player of the Year, which was awarded in conjunction with the 2004 Aflac All-American Game (now the Perfect Game All-American Classic).

That 2005 MLB Draft class stood out for the sheer number of talented high school outfielders, and if one counts Upton as an outfielder, which just about everyone did, there were five high school outfielders taken in the first round, including four in the top 12 picks.  Aside from Upton being selected with the first overall pick, others included Cameron Maybin at 10, Andrew McCutchen at 11, Jay Bruce at 12, and Colby Rasmus at 28.

Upton originally signed a national letter of intent to attend North Carolina State University in November, 2004 before being taken #1 by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the ’05 Draft. Negotiations with the Diamondbacks dragged out, and Upton eventually decided not to attend N.C. State so he could retain his eligibility to sign.  The two sides eventually reached an agreement on January 6, 2006 for a then-record $6.1 million bonus spread out over five seasons.