| 21 May 2012
Justin Upton got off to a slow start in 2012, as discussed here last week. One area that has been particularly frustrating for Upton and for Diamondbacks fans is that he has struck out looking a league leading 20 times through his first 39 Games. Upton's overall strikeout rate in 2012 has increased from 18.7% in 2011 up to 23.8% in 2012, but that is actually the same as his career strikeout rate. The difference in 2012 is that is that for his career, about 30% of Upton's strikeouts have been looking, while this year that rate has shot up to 53%.
Upton is tied for 15th in the National League in total strikeouts, but ranks #1 in the NL in strikeouts looking:
| Rank | Player | Looking | Strikeouts |
| 1 | Justin Upton | 20 | 38 |
| 2 | Rickie Weeks | 19 | 53 |
| 3 | Drew Stubbs | 17 | 47 |
| 4 | Corey Hart | 16 | 47 |
| 5 | Cameron Maybin | 15 | 37 |
| 5 | Kirk Nieuwenhuis | 15 | 48 |
| 5 | Ike Davis | 15 | 39 |
| 8 | Chase Headley | 14 | 43 |
| 8 | Jordan Schafer | 14 | 46 |
| 10 | Miguel Montero | 12 | 39 |
Among those in the Top 25 in strikeouts, Upton also has the highest percentage of strikeouts looking in the NL. He's one of only two players who are over 40% in strikeouts looking, and the only NL player over 50%.
| Rank | Player | Strikeouts | Looking | % Looking |
| 1 | Justin Upton | 38 | 20 | 53% |
| 2 | Cameron Maybin | 37 | 15 | 41% |
| 3 | Ike Davis | 39 | 15 | 38% |
| 4 | Drew Stubbs | 47 | 17 | 36% |
| 5 | Rickie Weeks | 53 | 19 | 36% |
| 6 | Corey Hart | 47 | 16 | 34% |
| 7 | Chase Headley | 43 | 14 | 33% |
| 8 | Kirk Nieuwenhuis | 48 | 15 | 31% |
| 9 | Miguel Montero | 39 | 12 | 31% |
| 10 | Jordan Schafer | 46 | 14 | 30% |
Looking at Upton's previous stats on strikeouts looking, this rate of 53% is way over his previous numbers:
| Year | Strikeout Rate | % Looking | Total K |
| 2007 | 24.3% | 35% | 37 |
| 2008 | 29.0% | 31% | 121 |
| 2009 | 23.3% | 26% | 137 |
| 2010 | 26.6% | 29% | 152 |
| 2011 | 18.7% | 28% | 126 |
| 2012 | 23.8% | 53% | 38 |
| TOTAL | 23.8% | 30% | 611 |
Upton has only been swinging at 40.9% of the pitches he has seen this year, down from his career rate of 43.9%, and his high of 46.6% in 2011. He has been unhappy with the umpires' calls of balls and strikes for most of the season, but it is clear that he needs to do a better job of protecting the plate once he gets two strikes.
