Tigers Justin Upton: 2016 Fantasy Baseball Dud

By Brad Kelly | Sep 13, 2016

Jul 26, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Detroit Tigers left fielder Justin Upton (8) is hit with a pitch by Boston Red Sox relief pitcher Robbie Ross Jr. (28) (not pictured) in the seventh inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /

Justin Upton is having a career worst season for the Tigers, and fantasy owners have paid the price. Could he be the biggest fantasy dud of 2016?

The Detroit Tigers have valiantly fought all season to remain in the playoff race, and they will be right in the thick of things till season’s end. But. that is in no thanks to Justin Upton, who has seemingly never gotten things going this season. Upton was a universal mid round selection in drafts this past spring,but has had a terrible season, so could he be the biggest fantasy dud this season?

Upton certainly has his fair of competition for the designation, but he is at the top of list due to him failing in the best offensive situation of his career. Heading into the season, I will admit that I was bullish on Upton, even mentioning him as a dark horse MVP candidate. Yet, he has looked lost at the plate, and his swing and miss ways are more prevalent now than ever.

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On the season he currently sits with a, .238/22 HR/70 RBI/9 SB/.297 OBP line. Take away Upton’s name, and that stat line would be passable for a waiver wire add or late round selection. But, the draft day investment can not be downplayed. While Upton’s streaky ways are well documented, Upton never supplied owners with the crazy month or so stretches that fantasy owners were accustomed to seeing and banked on.

Upton has four months this season were he has batted less than .246, and could not knock in more than 13 RBI. Keep in mind that over the course of April and May, he had only amassed three homers and only 11 RBI as well. Luckily, in June and July, Upton was able to salvage some of his season by posting 10 HR and 35 RBI over that span, but at the end of the day they are still pedestrian numbers.

Surrounded by the best supporting class in his career, and even getting lucrative at bats in front of Miguel Cabrera, where did things go wrong this season? Let us first look at the obvious, Upton’s 29.5% K rate is the highest of his career, while his 7.1% BB rate is at its lowest since his rookie campaign.

By digging deeper into his batted ball data, his 40% GB, and 20.7% Soft contact rates, are at their worst clips since 2013. It is amazing to see a player that, even with his flaws has still produced solid fantasy lines, struggle so mightily this season when it would seem that this was the year he would be in the best position to succeed.

With all that said, Upton began to look like himself over the last two weeks or so, batting .275, notching four homers, while knocking in 12. But, just as he was starting to heat up at the perfect time for fantasy owners, he was forced to leave the game on Monday with a calf strain. Serving a just another microcosm of his season.

Next: 2017 Fantasy Baseball: Jose Fernandez vs Stephen Strasburg

Entering the 2017 season, Justin Upton will be 29, and more than likely, in his second year with the Tigers. There will be a lot of fantasy owners that will ignore Upton next spring after his struggles this season, and rightfully so. The Tigers brought him in to be a centerpiece of the lineup, and they will need him turn things around, as the core of their team gets another year older.

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