If you are a Braves fan you are well aware of what is happening with B.J. Upton. Heck, even the average baseball fan is fairly aware of how bad he has been playing. BJ signed a contract in the off-season with the Braves for five-years and 75.25 million dollars. Most thought he would start where he left off in Tampa Bay; getting hits and stealing bases, not the case.
He only has 26 hits in 167 at-bats this year giving him a batting average of .156. What’s worse than the lack of hitting is how often he has failed to make contact with the ball, as he has struck out 65 times. You could argue that Justin Upton also has struck out as many times as BJ but once you really look into the numbers you’d understand why Justin isn’t in fear of losing his starting spot.
Fredi Gonzalez believes one of the main problems he is facing is that he can’t get his front foot down quick enough, in turn making him late on pitches. Greg Walker was interviewed last week as well and he believes there are three different problems with his swing. One, he has had horrible posture that makes it look like he is batting uphill. Two, like Fredi said, he is late getting his heel down. And three, he’s overloading his bat which is making him late on pitches as well.
That brings us to the topic at hand. Should B.J. be benched? This is a tricky question because of all the variables that lie within. Some might say that benching a player in a slump is only going to make him lose confidence and that he won’t get better if he isn’t getting opportunities. On the other hand, a few days off could help him figure his swing out and in-turn allow for him to find his stride. I for one believe that B.J. should continue to stay in the lineup and work things out there.
The only other problem with leaving him in the lineup is how great center fielder Jordan Schafer has been playing. Most thought Schafer’s career was over when he was cut by the Houston Astros, who are arguably the worst team in baseball. To this point in the season he is batting .310 with two home runs and the most impressive stats of all, a .420 on-base percentage. (Which is ironic because Schafer was arrested for marijuana charges in 2011) Schafer also has a lot of speed and can cover nearly as much ground in the outfield as BJ.
Back to Bossman Junior. He sat out four of the past six games before hitting a walk-off single on Saturday night at the hands of the Washington Nationals. It might have only been a single but this one hit could have righted the ship. On Sunday, Upton hit a homerun in his first at-bat, which is a great sign for him and Braves fans alike.
In the end, B.J. should stay in the lineup. Before you know it, he will be looking like the BJ of 2012. The strikeouts are always going to remain a problem but if he can find a way to be more patient at the plate; take more walks and gain confidence, you could see this Atlanta offense take off. A side note before I sign off. The Atlanta Braves have three of the top-10 strikeout leaders in all of baseball, with Dan Uggla, Justin Upton and of course B.J. Upton.