The Braves played their third noon game in three weeks Wednesday, which has become a regular day off for Justin Upton. So he was out of the lineup Wednesday as the Braves had the early start following a night game against the Pirates and are in the midst of 20 games in 20 days.
That said, Upton also knows his timing is off at the plate. He’s still getting his hits but it’s been 15 games since he’s homered – over a stretch of 63 at-bats. That’s news for a guy who led the majors in home runs in April with 12.
Upton was the quickest player to 12 home runs in Braves franchise history, doing it in only 23 games. But after hitting .298 in April, Upton was hitting .223 (25-for-112) with 38 strikeouts in his past 30 games entering Wednesday.
“It’s a combination of some good pitching and me not being in sync,” Upton said. “Sometimes it leaves you and you’ve got to battle at-bats until you find it again.”
His struggles haven’t been in the same realm as his brother B.J. but Braves hitting coach Greg Walker said both Upton brothers have a lot going on mechanically that Walker is still in the process of trying to learn.
“Both of them are off-the-charts talent, but they’re somewhat complicated in their game as far as their swings,” Walker said. “And it’s up to me and Fletch to come up to speed. And we’re using these scuffles hopefully as a learning opportunity, to learn what makes them tick, how to get out of it and not last for a month.”
Walker said he and assistant hitting coach Scott Fletcher have been watching as much video as they can get their hands on and are in constant conversation with both Uptons to get an idea of what they’re feeling at the plate. Chipper Jones even went in the cage with B.J. on Tuesday afternoon before staying to watch the game Tuesday night from his luxury suite.
Walker said he wants both Uptons focusing on timing the fastball.
“Both of them right now, they’ve got to get their timing based off the fastball and still be able to compete on breaking balls,” Walker said. “That’s the first rule of hitting. You have to prepare for the fastball. And at times both of them have been late on fastballs. That’s a very simplistic answer, but that’s a base to start from.”
