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Classmates Upton, Braun square off

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By JR Radcliffe / Special to MLB.com

05/01/09 1:10 AM ET

MILWAUKEE -- Most fans of the National Football League consider the 1983 Draft a landmark class of talent, with quarterbacks John Elway, Dan Marino and Jim Kelly among those selected in the first round, not to mention future Hall of Famers Bruce Matthews, Eric Dickerson and Darrell Green.

Major League Baseball may have one such class.

Including Arizona D-backs outfielder and first overall pick Justin Upton, the 2005 First-Year Player Draft has already developed a reputation as one of the best in history, with plenty of time to further realize how deep the pool goes.

Milwaukee slugger Ryan Braun -- whose team was primed to face the D-backs on Friday in the second of four games -- went fifth overall that year to Milwaukee and won the National League Rookie of the Year two seasons ago. Several others (Kansas City's Alex Gordon, Washington's Ryan Zimmerman, Colorado's Troy Tulowitzki, the Mets' Mike Pelfrey, Florida's Cameron Maybin, Cincinnati's Jay Bruce, Florida's Chris Volstad, Tampa's Matt Garza, Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury, Oakland's Joey Devine) have made an impact in the big leagues. Still others (Seattle's Jeff Clement, St. Louis' Colby Rasmus, Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen, Toronto's Ricky Romero) were top prospects in their respective organizations.

"It's fun to watch guys that came up with you," Upton said. "I wish everybody well. We all worked hard to get where we were and to be drafted where we did. For everyone to have success in the big leagues is awesome."

Upton, selected out of Great Bridge High School in Chesapeake, Va., is still under development as a Major League regular, but he was coming off a productive homestand in which he had three homers, seven RBIs, five runs scored and three walks in six games. He went 1-for-3 in the series opener on Thursday.

After an 0-for-14 start to the season, Upton has pulled his average back up to .250, one symptom of a team-wide upswing that included three wins in four games before Thursday's loss.

"I'm just really enjoying playing the game," Upton said. "My approach is just to come out and not worry so much about results and just have fun playing."

Upton also said the distinction of being No. 1 overall in a talented class of big leaguers didn't translate to greater expectations.

"Everybody has their own self-expectations," he said.

Upton has an 0-for-5 lifetime mark against Milwaukee's Friday starter, Manny Parra.

Pitching matchup
ARI: RHP Jon Garland (2-1, 5.47 ERA)
Garland has pitched well in three of his four starts this season. In his last outing against the Giants, he allowed just one run through the first seven innings. The Giants were able to break through against him in the eighth with the big blow being a three-run homer by Pablo Sandoval, which came after Garland had passed the 100-pitch mark. His one rough outing came against the Cardinals when he allowed seven runs in just 3 2/3 innings. He has victories against the Dodgers and Rockies to his credit.

MIL: LHP Manny Parra (0-4, 6.52 ERA)
Parra pitched five innings in his last outing, Sunday at Houston, before being lifted for a pinch-hitter with the Brewers trailing by one. He gave up five hits and three runs, but only one of them was earned. He struck out four, walked three and threw 97 pitches. Parra felt he had better command of his fastball against the Astros, and manager Ken Macha was pleased to see him throw more changeups. Parra has allowed only one earned run in two games, a total of 13 innings, in his career against Arizona. That gives him a 0.69 ERA vs. the D-backs.

Tidbits
The D-backs did not commit an error for an eighth straight game Thursday, one shy of the franchise record. ... Max Scherzer said a mechanical fix aided his scoreless six-inning performance Thursday. "Sometimes I step back too far, and it throws my weight off," Scherzer said. "I still have more to do, but that little thing can throw me off. It helped my command and had my weight going more toward the plate instead of the third-base line." ... Felipe Lopez now has three career leadoff homers after starting Thursday's game with a dinger. Another came on Opening Day this season. ... Shortstop Josh Wilson, who went 1-for-3 on Thursday while Augie Ojeda nursed a strained groin, will likely get the start Friday, as well.

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Up next
• Saturday: Diamondbacks (Dan Haren, 2-3, 1.54) at Brewers (Braden Looper, 2-0, 2.45), 4:05 p.m. MST
• Sunday: Diamondbacks (Yusmeiro Petit, 0-2, 8.62) at Brewers (Dave Bush, 1-0, 4.50), 11:05 a.m. MST
• Monday: Diamondbacks (Doug Davis, 2-3, 2.91) at Dodgers (Eric Stults, 2-1, 5.50), 7:10 p.m. MST

JR Radcliffe is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.