Justin Upton got off to a slow start in 2012, as discussed here last week. One area that has been particularly frustrating for Upton and for Diamondbacks fans is that he has struck out looking a league leading 20 times through his first 39 Games. Upton's overall strikeout rate in 2012 has increased from 18.7% in 2011 up to 23.8% in 2012, but that is actually the same as his career strikeout rate. The difference in 2012 is that is that for his career, about 30% of Upton's strikeouts have been looking, while this year that rate has shot up to 53%.
Upton is tied for 15th in the National League in total strikeouts, but ranks #1 in the NL in strikeouts looking:
Among those in the Top 25 in strikeouts, Upton also has the highest percentage of strikeouts looking in the NL. He's one of only two players who are over 40% in strikeouts looking, and the only NL player over 50%.
Rank Player Strikeouts Looking % Looking 1 Justin Upton 38 20 53% 2 Cameron Maybin 37 15 41% 3 Ike Davis 39 15 38% 4 Drew Stubbs 47 17 36% 5 Rickie Weeks 53 19 36% 6 Corey Hart 47 16 34% 7 Chase Headley 43 14 33% 8 Kirk Nieuwenhuis 48 15 31% 9 Miguel Montero 39 12 31% 10 Jordan Schafer 46 14 30%Looking at Upton's previous stats on strikeouts looking, this rate of 53% is way over his previous numbers:
Year Strikeout Rate % Looking Total K 2007 24.3% 35% 37 2008 29.0% 31% 121 2009 23.3% 26% 137 2010 26.6% 29% 152 2011 18.7% 28% 126 2012 23.8% 53% 38 TOTAL 23.8% 30% 611Upton has only been swinging at 40.9% of the pitches he has seen this year, down from his career rate of 43.9%, and his high of 46.6% in 2011. He has been unhappy with the umpires' calls of balls and strikes for most of the season, but it is clear that he needs to do a better job of protecting the plate once he gets two strikes.
Original Story:
http://www.dbacksvenom.com/2012-artic...
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May 22, 2012
