The prime of most players occurs at the age of 29-31. It is the period where they are most apt physically and mentally. Career years do not always happen during the prime years.

What everyone here is moaning about is consistency. It also bugs me, but it is no reason to let go of a 5 tool player.

Still 27...ok...but lots of guys are about Melvin's age, and they far outshine him. Just think what Kemp, Fielder, Pedroia, Mauer, Braun, Cano, Tulowitzki, et al (each within a year or so of Upton's age) are gonna do when they hit their prime. Apologies and excuses are all that make up Upton's MLB resume'.

Ok, but nearly every player on your list is a yearly all star and all of them except Braun are being paid more than Upton this year, several (Fielder, Mauer, Cano) substantially more. To expect to be able to attract those type of guys that command the kind of money that they do is a pipe dream. Is BJ a little over paid? Sure he is, but he has a 4WAR average over the last five years, which makes him competitive with every player on your list all of whom average 4-5WAR since '07. To expect to just pluck another 4WAR center fielder out of thin air is unrealistic and with the number of outfielders who have spent time on the DL this year it's a darn good thing we didn't trade him.

Look how you had to pick all stars to prove that Upton was not doing enough. Right there you acknowledge Upton is a better than average player. With more work he becomes a potential all star that is a 30/30 guy.

Everyone holds him to a higher level because he started at a young age. Fact is, there is no one within the system that can replace him. The best option is Victorino which would be counter productive. Or we can move Desmond to center full time and sign a left or right fielder power bat. And the quality of corner outfielders was not available last offseason.

True he is a better than average player..Certainly he has a greater trading value than an average player....However finding a team that needs another better than average player who makes 7 mil thats a big problem...And despite all the BJ bashing he has a big chance this year right now to show he is a lot better than average ..Now putting losing him in the same class as Josh Hamilton???That he will develop into that type of power,or even that type of player now thats comical...Not impossible, just comical..seriously,, BJ needs to just get down to a reality..And thats just realize he isn't a Josh Hamilton..Get those base hits,concentrate on the bases,Run out everything and use his natural speed to hustle more than an average player....Most of all, stop reading the potential clippings...He will wind up playing for another team,How much he earns will be based on his efforts not his potential..I would hope he has a great year this year and proves a lot of people wrong,including myself..One last thought ..Potentiality isn't achieved by everyone..Only those that apply the dedication and greater effort along with the natural ability, reach that uncrowded level....

There aren't that many guys in Melvin's age range (late 20s) that anyone's ever heard of who command a $7 mil salary. That said, the point remains that using "only 27" as an excuse for mediocrity fails miserably. Delusional Rays fans will be waiting for Upton's "prime" long after he's gone from the game. Face it, he's a minor league talent when compared to an entire list of his peers of roughly the same age and length of experience. I'll bide that after almost 8 full seasons, never having been an all-star or garnering any placement in MVP voting speaks volumes...

In my opinion, I believe BJ is an excellent outfielder. He is fast and can cover a lot of ground in the outfield with his speed; his hitting has improved to the point, whereby, he has come up with a hit, when we need it, to stay alive. He is a spunky guy, who doesn't take no for an answer; usually guys like that, appear tough, but in reality, are good soft hearted people.

Yeah, well, the other night ... he "drove in" the winning run by hitting into a double play with no outs and the bases loaded! Typical ... and vintage ... Upton!

And ... "physical" prime might occur between 28 and 31 ... but ... with a lot of these guys ... it's "mental" and "maturity" prime that finally begins to make the greatest contributions to a solid career. And ... it still takes a high degree of personal effort, the willingness to ALWAYS be learning, and a tendency towards coachability.

"Apologies and excuses" ... combined with unrealistic expectations ... an almost universal over-hyping of his abilities ... and a complete mishandling of his development.

Your comment ... "get down to reality" ... is the whole, entire, complete, unabridged answer to "The B. J. Upton Riddle"!

I'd bet the kid hasn't had a day's worth of "reality" as far as baseball goes since the day he played in his first T-ball game!

It's too late for him here. He needs a new environment, new people around him, a set of much more realistic expectations ... and ... most importantly ... a new realization on his part that he's NOT capable of being another Hamilton ... nor even a Granderson!

And the fact that he is only 27-years old simply means that he's clearly still young enough to significantly benefit from "a new start".

Another excellent comment ... "delusional Rays fans"!

It's those "delusional" expectations ... and putting him into the big game maybe too far BEFORE he was MENTALLY and EMOTIONALLY ready for it ... and "delusional" not just by the fans ... but ... by the Rays organization, too ... that I think have probably done the guy in at this point. It could simply be that he is what he's shown himself to be thus far ... nothing more ... nothing less. (And ... now in his ninth season ... he's been consistent! What you've seen is what you get!)

Often poor positioning ... slow start out of the box ... often runs poor routes to the ball ... not as good on balls over his head as he believes himself to be ... extremely erratic at throwing ... and a penchant for poor baseball decision-making all-around.

Offensively ... and his situational hitting stats clearly prove the point ... his performance at the plate gets worse-and-worse as the pile of chips gets bigger-and-bigger (the more the outcome of game is on the line and the later in the game).

Over the past three or four seasons ... I've never seen him rated higher than the 9th best (out of 14) among regular starting centerfielders in the AL. At BEST ... his eight prior years of stats show him to be an all-around "average" (or slightly below) centerfielder.

So we are back where we started...who do we replace him with? Kotchman can't play center. Your assessments always have one thing in common. They focus on what players have done in the past, not what they will do in the future.

Here are the facts: His career OBP is .342. Even though he is hitting for a low average, he is getting on base. His 162 game average is at 40 stolen bases. He is going to help Evan and Pena see more fastballs while on base. He gets to more fly balls than other centerfielders because he knows how to play shallow. He is going to bring in runs. He is becoming a situational hitter and is currently leading the AL in Sac Flies.

When Longoria gets back Upton is going to get hot again. He has so much potential and just letting him go without a backup plan is just dumb. (Sam Fuld is not a back up plan, he is a pinch runner).

As far as Upton goes, i think the word potential has to be retired. We have heard potential since he was drafted, yet we get the same guy. First it was his position, then it was injuries, then it was his place in the lineup, yadda, yadda. The reality is...he is a decent major league player. He is not all star, he is not a top talent, but he is good enough right now to be our centerfielder. He is what he is, and what he is is not all that bad, it just isn't worthy of his draft status and the "expectations and potential" that we have all been waiting for all these years. We do get that amazing player every once in a while, but we also get the bumbling idiot version once in a while too. Either way, i don't think as a player he deserves so much discussion in general. He will not be resigned, and we will either trade him at the deadline (which seems unlikely with all the injuries), or we will not resign him in the offseason. Then we can move on to why Beckham has potential and never lives up to it for the next 9 years.

Well, after eight seasons, you can continue to believe in Upton's "potential" if you choose. For me, he's simply a mediocre player who, excepting during the 2007 season, has never evidenced the potential some claim to see in him. As I've said ... WHEN does enough become enough?

And, you're definitely on the wrong track on his situational hitting. In fact, his situational hitting record for seven of the last eight years is clearly atrocious ... and ... in the simplest of terms ... the more critical an at bat is ... the more likely he is to fail to produce. This season thus far ... clearly out of character compared to his prior stats ... he HAS driven in a tying run with a sacrifice fly ... and ... he has driven in what amounted to two winning runs with sacrifice flies. This is totally at odds with his record over seven of his last eight seasons. More in line with his routine ... with the bases loaded and no outs two nights ago ... in an obviously critical situation ... he hit into a double-play ... during which the runner on third scored ... and that was his third "game-winning hit" of the season!

So ... while you continue to have high expectations and "hope" for the future for Upton ... my feeling is that, if the rumors were true, he should have been traded to the Nats last summer for a middle-reliever ... and I would deem it very unfortunate if the Rays were to resign him out of free agency at the end of this season. For me, enough is enough. Give the guy a change of scenery and personnel to see if he can improve his game under different circumstances ... and, next season, let's make sure to give someone else a chance to play centerfield for the Rays.

Obviously, there's very little chance anything will change right now given that jennings and guyer are on the DL ... UNLESS ... there's some ulterior motive in the fact that the Rays went after Rich Thompson ... who has played ONLY centerfield during his 13 years in the minors! They apparently SPECIFICALLY sought out an experienced "centerfielder" ... but ... to what end? Of course ... given the fact that injuries have taken their toll all around ... maybe they're just trying to cover their butts in the event that Upton should get hurt ... or ... maybe they have another reason for specifically seeking out a centerfielder. (???)

(And ... forgetting about all the injuries now involved here ... pre-season ... I would have been perfectly happy with Jennings in center and Fuld in left ... or even vice versa ... and I think Guyer will ultimately become a more than satisfactory extra outfielder. But ... unfortunately ... all three have landed on the DL! So ... it looks like Joyce-Upton-Zobrist will be out there for a while ... with Thompson becoming the utility/extra outfielder.)

Another tl;dr statement from tk who still can't answer the question at hand. Here the question is who as a centerfielder improves the team as much as BJ does? You can ignore everything that I say and look at all the negatives. You are just a closet Red Sox fan. Who are we suppose to buy this offseason to replace Upton, who is already a top 10 centerfielder?

Er top 10 ????? Maybe in the top 100 but thats a maybe tho..

He's six tools. Add lazy to the five tools, which I don't agree he is anyway.

I think Upton has tendency to raise his head in his swing. His upright swing is too sensitive. Last night against red sox I noticed he was keeping his head down better. Such a small adjustment would be difficult to detect.

He has what kills golfers swings and causes mishits....His head comes up before the bat makes contact..And his swing is all upper body..Everything could be corrected with good coaching..But its tough when the student is smarter than the teacher..