Apr 14, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Detroit Tigers left fielder Justin Upton (8) receives a high-five at the dugout after scoring a run against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the fourth inning in an inter-league game at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Justin Upton leads the American League with 25 strikeouts in 62 at-bats, while drawing only three walks. He has only four extra-base hits and two RBIs with an 0-for-4 Thursday dropping his average to .226.
Upton batted second in the Tigers first 14 games and will remain there, said Brad Ausmus, the man who makes out the lineup.
“He’s got a pretty good track record over the course of 500 plate-appearances of putting up pretty consistent numbers,” said Tigers manager Ausmus. “I’m not going to, after two weeks of games, change the game plan. Two weeks of games where he hasn’t hit like he normally hits. That’s what in this game they call panicking.
“The truth is, if he gets hot, no one is questioning. If he’s cold, they want someone to be moved.”
Ausmus has no set rules on when to reposition a player in the batting order.
“Depends not only on how he’s hitting, but how other people are hitting in the lineup,” Ausmus said. “The thing that gets lost in translation — it’s such a numbers-based game now people think ‘We’ll if someone’s hitting .350 in the eight hole, they can hit .350 in the two hole.’
“And that’s not true, because maybe part of the reason he’s hitting .350 in the eight hole is they’re not paying as much attention to him. He’s down in the order and he’s very comfortable there. All of a sudden, you put him in the spotlight of the two hole, puts more pressure on himself and he’s not a .350 hitter. There’s no perfect answer.”
