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Is Justin Upton’s strikeout rate a concern?
- Updated: April 21, 2016
11:02 PM ET
KANSAS CITY — Is Justin Upton’s high strikeout rate an area for concern? Or is it simply a stat skewed by a small sample size this early in the season?
Entering Wednesday’s game against the Kansas City Royals, outfielder Justin Upton carried a 40.7 percent strikeout rate, according to FanGraphs.com. That’s obviously a worrisome number, but it’s also significantly higher than his career average, 24.2 percent, which seems to suggest that his early struggles at the plate are more of a temporary blip than an indicator of something more troubling.
At least that is how manager Brad Ausmus interpreted the results when asked about Upton’s strikeout rate before Wednesday’s 3-2 win over the Royals.
Justin Upton entered Wednesday’s game with a 40.7 percent strikeout rate, then fanned twice against the Royals. Justin Berl/Getty Images
“I think it’ll come back down the other way,” Ausmus said. “Water finds its level. If it’s …
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