LA Angels: Giving letter grades for core position players in 2021

Giving letter grades for LA Angels’ core position players in 2021–Justin Upton: C+

Justin Upton just hasn’t been the same for the LA Angels since he started getting banged up after the 2018 season.

And this year, he finally started coming around before he was injured again. Once Upton was moved into the leadoff spot in the lineup, he went nuts. He hit .326/.420/.600 (1.020 OPS) with six home runs, 15 RBI and 25 runs scored in 25 games.

He was spectacular and then got hurt. He missed a month, and when he came back he didn’t look right. He played very poorly, and his injury seemed to be clearly affecting him.

He eventually had to be shut down, and finished with poor numbers. He hit .211/.296/.409 (.705 OPS) with 17 home runs, 41 RBI, and 47 runs in 87 games.

Upton was one of the very best Angels on the team this year for that hot month, and then the injury took its toll. It’s very disappointing as to how it all ended.

That month proved that Upton still has what it takes in him, but the injuries haven’t allowed us to see that for a large sample size recently.