Justin Upton skies over the wall to rob Andrew McCutchen of a homer

When he was destroying pitchers in the minors, San Diego Padres outfielder Justin Upton was described as a true five-tool player. While Upton often shows off two of those tools at the plate, he occasionally gets an opportunity to prove he’s still a strong fielder.

He proved that Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Pirates. With a man on first, and the Pirates trailing by one run, Andrew McCutchen stepped to the plate looking to give his team the advantage. 

On the fourth pitch of the at-bat, it looked as though McCutchen may have succeeded. He belted a 92 mph fastball from Marcos Mateo out to left field. It appeared as though the ball would land in the second row of the stands. That’s when Upton struck.

Upton perfectly tracked the ball to the wall. Once he was close enough, he timed his jump perfectly, leaping over the wall to rob McCutchen of a possible go-ahead hit. A more dubious observer might have suggested Upton had springs in his shoes given how high he had to jump in order to get to that ball.

Though Upton came through this time, the Padres would eventually go on to lose the game 3-2. While McCutchen was bested in this opportunity, he was the one who got the last laugh.

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That shouldn’t take away from Upton’s play, though. While it’s easy to think of him as an offensive juggernaut, it’s good to know he still has some defensive skills. It’s one of the many reasons Upton will likely make a ton of money on the free-agent market during the offseason. 

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik