Top pick poised beyond years
TUCSON, Ariz. – As Justin Upton pulled on his brand-new Arizona Diamondbacks jersey, he tried to recall what he was doing at this time last year.
“A year ago, we just started tryouts for my high school team,” Upton said this week.
Tryouts? Upton chuckled when asked if he had to try out for the varsity at Great Bridge High in Chesapeake, Va. “No, not really,” he said.
In June, the Arizona Diamondbacks picked him first overall in the amateur draft. After several months of negotiations, the club gave Upton a $6.1 million signing bonus – the largest in a minor league contract for a drafted player who was not a free agent.
Now the 18-year-old is at the Diamondbacks’ training camp as a non-roster invitee. Upton showed up nearly a week before the reporting date for position players. The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder started hitting balls over the fence in his first swings against big league pitching.
“Unbelievable impression,” manager Bob Melvin said after watching Upton in the batting cage. “He’s got great actions for an 18-year-old kid. A wooden bat looks natural in his hands. He resists going out there and trying to hit home runs on every ball in batting practice. He hits the ball the other way. Just a very impressive 18-year-old.”
It was no coincidence team owners Ken Kendrick and Jeff Moorad were watching when Upton stepped into the cage against reliever Brian Bruney on Thursday morning. The team has a huge investment in Upton, one of several shortstop prospects in the organization. Two years ago, the Diamondbacks used their first pick to draft Stephen Drew, now on the 40-man major-league roster.
For several months after the draft, it appeared the team might not be able to sign Upton, who threatened to go to college if Arizona didn’t meet his contract demands. Asked this week if there were a point when it looked like the deal would fall through, Moorad replied, “There were about 15 of those points over the course of six months.
“In a high-profile negotiation like that, you never know for sure,” said Moorad, a former player agent who has negotiated numerous baseball contracts.
Upton tried to stay busy by working out, but he worried at times that he’d never play for Arizona. “I tried to keep my mind off of it,” he said. “That’s the business side of it. Of course, I had my doubts at times.”
Upton is targeted for the minor leagues this season. But the club, hoping to speed his development, decided to invite him to the big league camp.
Some teenagers might be a bit awed by sharing a clubhouse with established major leaguers such as Luis Gonzalez, Craig Counsell and Shawn Green. Not Upton, whose older brother B.J. is a shortstop with Tampa Bay.
“You spend any time around him, he doesn’t act, look anything like an 18-year-old kid,” Melvin said. “He’s got a lot of savvy. You can tell he’s been around a family and brother who’s been in the big leagues. He handles himself very well.”
Upton has shown a quiet confidence in his ability while remaining respectful toward older teammates.
“He’s mature beyond his years, both ways, physically and mentally,” general manager Josh Byrnes said. “We didn’t expect him to come in here and be overwhelmed by it. I think he’ll learn a lot and he’ll take the lessons and hopefully be in camp to win a job sooner rather than later.”