Justin Upton To See Dr. James Andrews

When I die, I want to come back and be Dr. James Andrews for a day. How unbelievable must it be to be the preferred doctor of every team and every athlete in North America? I would put his wall of fame up against anyone on the planet.

I guess being on the Dr. James Andrews’ wall of fame is not such a good thing for a player. Visiting Dr. Andrews usually means surgery is around the corner. Arizona Diamondbacks’ OF Justin Upton was added to the wall on Monday and is hoping that he doesn’t suffer the same fate as the other patients of Dr. Andrews.

Upton traveled to Birmingham, Ala. on Monday to get a second opinion on his aching left shoulder. Upton got an original diagnosis on his shoulder in early-Sept., which revealed no serious injury.

Upton originally hurt the shoulder in an Aug. 30 game against the San Diego Padres. He has only had seven ABs since.

The injury ends what I would say would be a disappointing season for Upton. I thought Upton would challenge for the MVP award, but injuries and a really slow start derailed Upton’s season.

Upton will end the season with a .273/.356/.442 slash line with 17 HRs and 17 SBs. That’s compared to a .300/.366/.532 slash line last season with 26 HRs and 20 SBs.

The reason for Upton’s down season?

Well, for one, I would say injuries. And two, I would say the increased amount of changeups Upton saw this season.

Upton really struggled against the changeup this season, producing a -4.8 wCH against the pitch this season. That was good for 14th-worst against that pitch in baseball this season. Due to his struggles, Upton saw a four percent increase on seeing that pitch in 2010.

If Upton can enter the 2011 season healthy, I would expect him to have a season more like 2009 than the one he had in 2010.

You can follow The Ghost of Moonlight Graham on Twitter @ theghostofmlg