LA Angels: 3 players who have something to prove in the final five weeks

No. 1 LA Angels player who has something to prove in the final five weeks: Justin Upton

The LA Angels need more out of Justin Upton to finish this season. The thing abut J-Up is that when he gets hot, he’s unstoppable.

We saw it this season before his injury. He was hitting .326/.420/.600 with six jacks and 15 RBI from the leadoff spot in his last 25 games before he got hurt. Since, he’s been hitting .140/.213/.267 with three home runs and eight RBI in the 23 games he’s played.

He looked unstoppable, and now looks very stoppable. Clearly, the injury has affected him very much. Joe Maddon has even been practicing him at first base, seemingly due to the way his injury is affecting him.

He’s had to sit out of games recently, and he needs to get right at the plate as soon as he gets healthy. If he doesn’t, he may not have the best offseason in 2023.

He’ll be a free agent then, after next year. The Angels won’t be bringing him back if he doesn’t return to form. He has what it takes, and was taken with the No. 1 overall pick for a reason.

He’s still not even that old, at 34. There’s no excuses, and Upton needs to perform at the end of this year. If he doesn’t, he better have a monster contract year in 2022 and earn every cent of that $28 million he’s getting then.