Justin Upton distinguishes himself from other successful, young Major League Baseball players through his shear amount of raw power. “Isolated Power,” or ISO, is a widely-used statistic which is designed to measure a player’s raw power. By looking at Upton’s ISO, we not only have evidence of his raw power, but we can also see why he is on his way to becoming one of the best players in Major League Baseball history. For those of you who aren’t familiar with ISO, here is a quick description of the statistic according to Associated Content:

“Isolated Power, or ISO, is a statistic that was created invented by the famous general manager Branch Rickey and Al Roth in the 1950’s (this pair also invented On Base Percentage). Isolated Power attempts to separate and measure a player’s ability to hit for power as exhibited in extra base hits (doubles, triples, and home runs). Where batting average counts all hits equally, and slugging percentage gives credit for total bases, but also counts singles, ISO measures just the player’s extra-base abilities. Isolated power is basically a ratio of Extra Base Hits per at bat.”

So far this season, Upton’s ISO is .253. It is astonishing to see a 21-year-old display that type of power, considering that his body is still developing, and he is far from what Bill James considers to be a player’s prime (between the ages of 26 and 30). To put his ISO into perspective, let’s take a look at the other players that have posted an ISO of .250 or higher before the age of 22. Baseball reference reports these numbers:

That is quite a notable list of players.  To be counted in that company indicates that he may very well go on to become one of the top players in MLB history.  It’s also important to note that Upton is currently posting a .394 On Base Percentage, a number which would be remarkable for any player, but much more so when posted by a 21-year-old. According to Fangraphs, 90% of players that play at the level Upton has played at this early in his career end up as Hall of Fame players. Upton certainly appears to have a bright future. If he continues on this road, he should have no problem getting a phenomenal deal when he’s eligible for free agency as a 26-year-old in the 2013 season.

Related posts:

1. Mauer Power?
2. Big Mami?
3. Not So PERfect

The two statistics that stand out most are his Slugging Percentage and his Barry Bonds like Home Runs per At Bat rate. In a 500 at bat season, he’s on pace to hit an astronomical 59 home runs. Not too shabby for a player that has averaged only 8.8 home runs per season. When asked about his play after hitting his 12th home run in his 29th game he said:

“I don’t know. I’m not really changing anything, my approach or anything. I just try to hit the ball hard somewhere and they’re starting to fly over the fence.”

Lets look at it a different way. Babe Ruth hit a home run every 11.67 at bats. Over Mauer’s 6 year career, excluding this year, he has hit a home run every 46.79 at bats. This season he is hitting a home run every 8.5 at bats. In the steroid era, this is a red flag.

Check out his jump in home run rate.

Check out his jump in slugging percentage.

It’s hard to look at Joe Mauer’s change in power as a natural progression. It is likely that Joe’s big bat will cool down as the season plays on, but baseball and steroids go hand in hand and people will always wonder.

Related posts:

1. Big Mami?
2. Up Up And Away
3. Not So PERfect