Up Up and Away! Uber Prospect Justin Upton to the majors!

So who plays CF now? Upton or Young?

both.

When a prospect is rushed and jumped from Double-A they either become studs, a la Miguel Cabrera, or never meet expectations. I'm curious to see what happens with Upton. I think they should have been more patient with him.

The Diamondbacks are quietly putting together a good young team that could spell trouble for the NL these next few years.

This has been rumored for awhile. We all knew he was coming up at somepoint this season and he is the best prospect in all of baseball, so let's hope he's more like a Miguel Cabrera or even our own Mark Reynolds.

believe me, i'm as big a fan of upton's as anyone, but i do think it's a little too soon. he struggled quite a bit last season in his first professional season, hitting below .270. sure, he's had a great season, and showed no signs of slowing down in AA, but what happens if, in a month, he's playing 2 or 3 times a week, and only hitting .220? do they send him to AAA?...back to AA...and what if he struggles there, then what?

there's absolutely no better example than his brother b.j. the d-rays brought him up when he was 19 too...he proved he could hit the ball, and then proceeded to stunt his growth by struggling at SS for a year, and continuing those throwing problems at 3b, rather than agreeing to move to the OF (like justin was smart about and agreed to right off the bat). don't get me wrong, b.j.'s going to be a perennial all-star, and i expect the same of justin someday. i think he'll hold his own, but how good he can be will be shown when pitchers at the big league level start to get some accurate scouting reports, and start to learn his weaknesses (if there are any).

even though i think it's too early...he's a great player, and i think he'll be just fine. might not hit .300 this season in the big leagues, but next year, i would expect him to make a push for a starting OF job.

Most players of his potential, and with the money they get for signing, it is not unusual to see these guys called up early in their professional careers.

I've gotten to watch Upton play many times this season here in Mobile where he played Double-A ball. Every time he would come to the plate, it was electric in the stadium. Then, he would inevitably strike out or line out or fly out. He struck out at least once a game for every game that I saw him play in. Now, it's probably just my luck of the draw, but I cannot recall seeing him get a hit at a game that I attended...

Oh, and here's how the minor league system works:

Single-A and below: Kids that are newly drafted and developing.
Double-A: Studs and promising players who are waiting to be called up.
Triple-A: Career minor leaguers, former major leaguers, very few promising young studs.

So, to say a jump from Double-A to the majors is unheard of is wrong. It happens all the time, because that is where the majority of the talent is.

It's not so strange to see guys jump from AA to the majors...that's not what everyone is raving about. It's the fact that he's 19, and only a year and a half removed from being a high school student. And, I wouldn't be so quick to say there aren't that many "promising" prospects at the AAA level...just to name a few: Ian Stewart, Andy LaRoche, Joe Koshansky, Joel Guzman, Joey Votto, Ryan Sweeney, Jeff Niemann, Kevin Slowey, Joba Chamberlain, Adam Miller, Adam Jones (just called up), Wladimir Balentien, Brandon Wood, Phil Humber, and the list goes on and on. Sure, there's a much larger percentage of guys who won't make it in the big leagues to the number of top level prospects at the AAA level, but I wouldn't go so far as to say there are "very few promising young studs".

And here's a better clarification of how the minor league system works:

Single-A and below: Newly drafted kids and free agent kids signed out of Latin America who are in their early development stages professionally;
Double-A: The "make or break" level -- Kids either turn into professionals at this level and become full-blown potential Major League prospects, or are seperated into "serviceable" big leaguers and roster fillers.
Triple-A: The final proving grounds for some before moving onto the "greener pastures" of the big leagues, or the final frontier for some as they come to realize they're those unfortunate some rated as AAAA players. There are a lot of former big leaguers still hanging on, but there's still a fair share of prospects just waiting for their chance.