Rumors abounded that 24-year old righty swinging RF Justin Upton was on the trading block over the winter. The D-Backs have to be glad that no one offered them anything near what they thought Upton was worth. Upton has played in 145 games for the Diamondbacks so far this year and he is 163 for 544 (.300 avg, .934 OPS) with 99 runs scored, 30 homers, 85 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. He has remained red hot in September for the D-Backs as he has played in 9 games so far in September and he is 12 for 31 (.387 avg, 1.339 OPS) with 10 runs scored, 4 homers and 5 RBIs. He is one of the biggest reasons why the Diamondbacks are closing in on a N.L. West title in 2011.

It appears that a change of scenery has really sparked 29-year old righty swinging 2B Aaron Hill. Hill has played in 12 games so far for the D-Backs and he is 18 for 47 (.383 avg, 1.040 OPS) with 6 runs scored, 1 homer and 9 RBIs. He has now played in 116 overall this year for the D-Backs and Blue Jays in which he is 107 for 443 (.242 avg, .632 OPS) with 44 runs scored, 7 homers, 54 RBIs and 16 stolen bases. Hill has really provided a nice spark in the lineup for the D-Backs and they need him to keep raking.

24-year old lefty swinigng LF Gerardo Parra isn’t a classic corner outfielder as he doesn’t have a lot of power. But, he is doing the little things good enough to remain a starter for the D-Backs. Parra has played in 13 games so far in August and he is 13 for 40 (.325 avg, .782 OPS) with 5 runs scored, 0 homers, 4 RBIs and 2 stolen bases. He has now played in 104 games for the Diamondbacks so far this year and he is 93 for 318 (.292 avg, .787 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 7 homers, 32 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Despite the D-Backs’ efforts to take away P.T. from Parra, he just keeps producing.

27-year old lefty swinging catcher Miguel Montero has been picked to replace the injured Placido Polanco and join the N.L. All-Star team. Montero has played in 80 games for the Diamondbacks so far this year and he is 77 for 282 (.273 avg, .798 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 10 homers, 45 RBIs and 1 stolen base. Montero really deserves this honor as he is one of the best all-around catchers in the major leagues right now. The Diamondbacks hope he’s stays healthy in the second half of the 2011 season.

27-year old righty swinging CF Chris Young had his best season in the majors in 2010 and he’s proving that it wasn’t a fluke in 2011. Young played in 156 games for the D-Backs last year and he was 150 for 584 (.257 avg, .793 OPS) with 94 runs scored, 27 homers, 91 RBIs and 28 stolen bases. Young is building on the success of last season in 2011. Young has played in 88 games for the Diamondbacks in 2011 and he is 87 for 341 (.255 avg, .802 OPS) with 55 runs scored, 16 homers, 47 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Young has 30/30 potential and he could get those numbers this year if he stays healthy and gets back to stealing more bases.