Reminder: The Diamondbacks Did Something Really Stupid

If we've learned one thing from the first two weeks of the season, it's this: Justin Upton is most definitely a superstar.

In twelve games for the Braves, he's got 11 RBIs and 12 runs scored. He's already hit seven home runs (which leads the majors). His slugging percentage is an astronomical .891 -- exceeded only by The Great Chris Davis. His batting average is .348. He has as many three-hit games (3) as hitless games. Justin Upton is the biggest reason why the Braves have only lost one of their first twelve games and own the best record in baseball.

All of his contributions already add up to a Wins Above Replacement total of 1.3. There were a whopping 24 regular players in baseball last year who couldn't accumulate 1.3 WAR over the entire season, let alone 12 games. In other words, two weeks of 2013 Justin Upton have already been more valuable than Delmon Young's entire 2012 season, and the same goes for Kevin Youkilis, and Rickie Weeks, and Colby Rasmus. That's amazing. He's currently on pace for 17.5 WAR (which won't happen, because the single-season record for a position player is Babe Ruth at 14). But even if he finishes the season with half of that total -- say, 9 WAR -- that would be a hyper-elite season. Not a single player in baseball had 9 WAR last year, except for Mike Trout. As the best player on an excellent team, putting up ridiculous offensive numbers, Justin Upton would have to be considered the current frontrunner for the National League MVP Award.

That's not even the coolest thing about Justin Upton. The coolest thing about Justin Upton is that he's only 25 years old. It'll probably be years and years before he shows any sort of decline. In fact, since a player is thought to reach his peak at age 27, it's possible that the very best of Upton is yet to come -- a frightening concept for Atlanta's division rivals.

Do the Braves have to worry about their emerging superstar's contract situation? If this was the NFL, then absolutely. But this is baseball. Players can't demand a contract renegotiation. The Braves control Upton for the rest of 2013, all of 2014, and all of 2015. Those are his prime seasons -- ages 25, 26, and 27 -- the ones in which he'll likely provide the most value. There's no telling how much other teams would be willing to pay Upton for those years on the open market. The Braves, however, will pay him a grand total of just $38.5 million across all three seasons. In other words, that's just a third of what Josh Hamilton signed for during the offseason. And roughly half of what Nick Swisher signed for. Considering Upton's contract (team-friendly), his age (young), his current production (awesome), and his ceiling (maybe-even-more-awesome), the Braves have one of the best assets in all of baseball.

Yet just a few months ago, it was the Arizona Diamondbacks, not the Braves, who were in possession of Upton. They traded him to Atlanta in January for three non-elite prospects, a pitcher who might be a fourth or fifth starter someday, and one season of a solid-but-unspectacular third baseman named Martin Prado. Calling that a swindling would be an understatement. It would be far more accurate to say that the Braves raided the Diamondbacks' village, slaughtered their cattle, burned down their dwellings, stuffed Justin Upton into a burlap sack, and stole away into the night. The first two weeks of the season have taught us that Justin Upton is a tremendously talented baseball player, but they've also taught us that the Arizona Diamondbacks made an unforgivably dismal trade.