Upton’s struggles reek of immaturity

Baseball players go through ups and downs throughout the course of a season, and the D-backs’ Justin Upton is no exception.

Coming off a road trip where he was simply dominant, Upton has gone 2-16 over the last four games, three of which the Diamondbacks have lost.

While bad, his struggles at the plate aren’t what concerns Sports 620 KTAR’s Doug Franz.

“It is a mentally weak moment when you are taking your bat out onto the field,” he said of Upton’s recent struggles in right field. “It’s a sign of immaturity and that stinks.”

Franz made sure to note how young Upton is (23) and how well he’s been playing, adding that slumps happen.

“But the idea of two things here: number one, his defense falling off, and number two, where have been the other guys to pick him up?”

Upton is the face of the franchise and the team’s best player, so of course he will be held to a higher standard. That said, there will be nights where he doesn’t play his best, and you hope the rest of the team can pick up the slack.

That hasn’t been the case lately.

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