Upton In Second Slot As Tigers Begin Exhibition Schedule
By Ashley Scoby
@AshleyScoby
Tigers manager Brad Ausmus had previously tossed around a few ideas for where in the order new Tiger Justin Upton would bat this season. For now, at least, he appears to have settled on second.
Detroit kicks off its Grapefruit League portion of the spring training schedule on Tuesday. According to the Detroit News' Chris McCoskey, Upton will be batting second in the Tigers' game versus Pittsburgh.
Tigers v. PIT: Iglesias 6, Upton 7, Cabrera 3, V. Martinez DH, J.D. Martinez 9, Castellanos 5, McCann 2, Aviles 4, Bernard 8. Boyd starts
— Chris McCosky (@cmccosky) March 1, 2016
"I've said from the time we signed him that it's a logical spot to hit him," Ausmus told reporters at the Tigers' spring training in Lakeland, Fla., according to the News.
In his nine seasons, Upton has a .271 batting average and .352 on-base percentage.
Two other options Ausmus had mentioned were to put Upton at either fifth or sixth in the lineup. Although he's batting second as the Tigers kick off their exhibition schedule, Ausmus hasn't solidly committed to anything yet.
"Upton tends to get on base more," Ausmus said, according to the News. "You want as many guys on base in front of Miggy, Victor and J.D. (Martinez)."
Upton was one of the crowning jewels of Detroit's busy offseason. In his first offseason since being promoted to general manager and vice president of baseball operations, Al Avila added several to the Tigers' roster that missed the playoffs last year. The bullpen gained depth (with closer Francisco Rodriguez and set-up men Mark Lowe and Justin Wilson). Starter pitchers Jordan Zimmermann and Mike Pelfrey joined the fray.
And Upton was the final piece, adding depth to the outfield and to the batting order. How much of an impact he can make remains to be seen. But he could stand to benefit from not having the rest of the team on his shoulders, as he's dealt with at times in the past. In his nine seasons, Upton has played for the Diamondbacks, Braves and Padres, and has, off and on, been called upon to lead the offense.
In addition to his .336 on-base percentage last year for San Diego, Upton added 81 RBI, 26 home runs, 26 doubles and three triples. He walked 68 times with 159 strikeouts.
Now, with players like Miguel Cabrera, JD Martinez and Victor Martinez (who is finally healthy again after a rough 2015) surrounding him, some of that pressure can be alleviated. Upton is one of many now - on a team that had the best batting average in baseball last year.
"He's always had to be the guy," Ausmus said, according to the Detroit Free Press. "And I think this is a situation where he's just one of the guys."