Justin Upton shivered with the rest of the soaking fans at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on Oct. 27, 2008. His brother, B.J., was leading off first base for the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 5 of the World Series against the Phillies. As a rainstorm engulfed the field, Justin guessed that his brother's spikes had to be sinking into the quicksand. 'There's no way he's going to take this bag,' Justin Upton said he thought to himself. 'When he took off, I was like: Oh no. What are you doing?' What his brother was doing was beating Mother Nature all by himself. After reaching first base on an infield single, Upton waited out several pickoff moves from the Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels, then dashed for second. He hydroplaned into the bag safely and scored from second on a single to left field, tying the game just before it was suspended. The Rays lost when the game was completed, but Upton was a revelation, and nothing seemed beyond his reach. He stole six bases in the postseason without being caught. He bashed seven home runs, matching an American League postseason record. He drew 97 walks in the regular season, and his range in center field was reliably breathtaking. Yet just as Upton's star was rising, it disappeared. In the season after his dynamic October, Upton regressed in almost every way. After off-season surgery to fix a labrum tear in his left shoulder, he hit .241 with 11 home runs and 55 runs batted in. He had 42 steals but struck out more and walked less, and the Rays won 13 fewer games. The baseball world is still waiting for him. 'I know it's coming,' B.J. Upton said. 'You just can't force the issue. Let it happen. I'm not worried about if it's going to happen or not. I believe it will.' The Rays need it to happen now. With Carl Crawford and Carlos Pena possibly becoming free agents after this season, 2010 could be Tampa Bay's best chance for a while to challenge the Yankees and the Boston Red Sox in the AL East again. The Rays will have a decent chance if Rafael Soriano strengthens their bullpen and the young starting rotation improves. They will have a much better chance if Upton, 25, breaks through. 'It could be the kind of thing that gets you over the top, because he can beat you in so many different ways,' Manager Joe Maddon said. 'And it comes to bear every night. He's able to make those catches or make those throws or steal that base or do something to impact the game -- and it doesn't have to be with the bat.' Justin Upton, 22, showed last season what an Upton brother can do. A right fielder, he batted .300 with 26 homers, 86 RBI and 20 steals for the Arizona Diamondbacks, who rewarded him this month with a six-year, $51.25 million contract extension. The Rays, meanwhile, took B.J. Upton to salary arbitration over a difference of $300,000. The Rays won the hearing and will pay Upton $3 million this season. He cannot be a free agent until after the 2012 season. The brothers talk three or four times a week, and B.J. Upton said he was happy for Justin, who he said had worked hard and deserved his new contract. If Upton is bitter at the Rays, he has not shown it, and Maddon said he was thrilled with Upton's approach this off-season. For more than two months this winter, Upton worked out three times a week at Tropicana Field with Derek Shelton, the Rays' new hitting coach. 'He was very diligent with everything he did and how he did it,' Shelton said. 'His work ethic was tremendous, and he was very communicative in terms of what we talked about and how he felt. The biggest thing for me, being new to the club, is developing that relationship before there's trust. I was able to spend a lot of time with him.' Shelton worked on the timing of Upton's weight shift and on minimizing his movement before the pitch. He said Upton never mentioned the shoulder as a reason for his struggles, though Upton acknowledges he feels much stronger now. 'Complete turnaround,' Upton said. 'I got to work out the way I wanted to this off-season. There was no rehab stint. The year before I was going in and pretty much rehabbing every day.' Upton has a veteran's experience, but Maddon said it was important to remember how young he is. He was rushed to Tampa Bay in 2004 at age 19, then spent most of two seasons in the minors before returning. As recently as 2007, he made 48 starts at second base. In 2008, he was benched twice for not hustling, but Maddon said there had been no such incidents since. Upton has grown up in the majors, and with better health and consistent mechanics, he could be the difference maker for a Rays team that needs every edge it can get. 'There's a lot of potential there once he figures everything out,' said Arizona's Edwin Jackson, a former Rays starter. 'I just say, watch out. Sit back and watch the show.' 