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LASTINGS MILLEDGE
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OF, Pittsburgh Pirates
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Age: 25 Born: April 5, 1985 Height: 6′ 0″ Weight: 187 Bats: Right Throws: Right Drafted: 1st Round, 12th Overall, 2003 How Acquired: Trade (for Nyjer Morgan/Sean Burnett) High School: Lakewood Ranch HS (Bradenton, FL) Agent: N/A |
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SCOUTING REPORT
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| The Pirates made a classic buy low/sell high move in trading Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett for Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan, mostly due to the addition of Milledge. Milledge, once the top prospect in the New York Mets farm system, and one of the top ten prospects in the game, has seen a gradual fall from grace due to what is described as personality issues. Since joining the Pirates, no issues have been displayed. The key issues in New York were taking a victory lap down the side of the stands and slapping five with fans after hitting his first home run, and taking part in a rap album. In Washington, the key issue that got him demoted in 2009 was arriving to practice late. Looking back, the issues may suggest a lack of maturity, but nothing serious, and nothing that isn’t expected of a 22-24 year old.
Milledge at this point is all upside. As the season went on, Milledge not only showed his hitting ability, batting for a .291/.333/.395 line with the Pirates, but he also showed some good defensive skills, with an 11.2 UZR/150 rating in his time in Pittsburgh. The only thing Milledge lacked was power, although he hit 14 homers in 523 at-bats last year, so there’s no reason to think he can’t do that again. At the worst, Milledge provides the same value as Nyjer Morgan. If Milledge can improve on his power, and maintain his hitting and defensive work from the 2009 season, he alone will make the Morgan/Burnett trade a steal. |
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STATS
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MAJORS: <p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><br /> Report Created on <a href=”http://bbref.com/”>Baseball-Reference.com</a><br /> </p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p> MINORS: <p><p><p><p><p><p><br /> Report Created on <a href=”http://bbref.com/”>Baseball-Reference.com</a><br /> </p></p></p></p></p></p> |
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CONTRACT INFORMATION
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| 2006: League Minimum 2007: $383,000 2008: $402,500 2009: $452,000 2010: $452,000 2011: Arbitration Eligible 2012: Arbitration Eligible 2013: Arbitration Eligible Other Details:
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PLAYER INFORMATION
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| Signing Bonus: $2,075,000 MiLB Debut: 2003 MLB Debut: 5/30/2006 MLB FA Eligible: 2014 Added to 40-Man: 5/30/2006 Options Remaining: 0 (USED: 2006, 2007, 2009) MLB Service Time: 2.079 |
| AWARDS / ACHIEVEMENTS / PROSPECT RANKINGS | |
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AWARDS / ACHIEVEMENTS
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PROSPECT RANKINGS
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| 2002: 1st Team HS All-American OF 2003: 1st Team HS All-American OF |
Baseball America
2004: #86 MLB, #4 NYM |
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TRANSACTIONS
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| June 3, 2003: Drafted by the New York Mets in the 1st round, 12th overall pick. August 19, 2003: Signed by the New York Mets to a minor league contract with a $2.075 M bonus. May 30, 2006: Contract purchased by the New York Mets. November 30, 2007: Acquired by the Washington Nationals from the New York Mets in exchange for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider. June 30, 2009: Acquired by the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Washington Nationals along with Joel Hanrahan in exchange for Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett. |