Tom Brennan - Remembering a Few 1st Round Picks
Don't know why - the name Lastings Milledge flashed across my mind a few minutes ago. So I write about him.
A former Mets first round pick (12th overall).
My first recollection of him is: BUST.
In a sense, he was a bust. But not completely.
His career is certainly peculiar.
He looked "can't miss."
Baseball America one year had him as its # 9 prospect.
He was called up just 55 days after turning 21 by the NY Mets, and I recall Met fans being highly excited at the time.
He hit .257 with the Mets in 350 at bats and was moved to another team. I recall he was criticized for a few things, though I confess I can't recall what. Rap? Showboating? Lack of respect? Suffering by comparison to Wright and Reyes? Not sure. Help me out there, readers.
In his remaining 1,150 major league post-Mets at bats, he hit .273, for his career a decent .269. He stole 40 of 60 as a big leaguer. Still, not what was expected of Mr. Milledge.
He only had 4 major league at bats past the age of 25.
His MLB career ended one day after he blew out the candles for his 26th birthday. Lastings' career wasn't a lasting one.
Once sent down, he hit .295 for a White Sox AAA squad and stole 27 of 33 at age 26. Good...but not, apparently, enough to get him back to the bigs.
After more time in the minors, a brief gig in a Venezuelan League, then moderate success in a few years in Japan.
Now, still only 32, he's hitting .320 in an independent league.
Puzzling, yet he did achieve some big league success.
Two more recent Mets guys picked at almost the same exact early slot in the first round?
Gavin Cecchini - .248 in 61 AAA games with 3 homers.
Brandon Nimmo - .220 in 141 AAA at bats.
Comparably, Milledge looked good to me. How about you?
1 comment:
Then he self-destructed. Nimmo and Cecchini may be lucky to meet his achievements still.
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