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Howie Kendrick vs. Lastings Milledge

Howie Kendrick has been one of my favorite prospects for a couple of years now. And the best comparable offensive player i have come up with in the minor leagues is Lastings Milledge. Both players hit for a high average from the right side. Both players have good power and have average plate discipline. Both players have good speed.

Howie Kendrick was 22 years old last year. In the Cal League(a hitter's league)he hit .384/.421/.638 with 12 homers, 23 doubles, 6 triples, and he was 13 for 17 in stolen bases all in 63 games. He basically destroyed the league. Moved up to the Texas League(which I believe is more of a pitcher's league, but correct me if I'm wrong) he hit .342/.382/.579 with 7 home runs, 20 doubles, 2 triples, and was 12 for 16 in stolen bases all in 46 games. Not as good as his A ball numbers but damn good numbers nonetheless. I always knew he could he hit but he has greatly improved his baserunning. Kendrick's defense at second base has improved from bad to average, and he probably will never be more than an average second baseman. His minor league career line is .359/.403/.555 in four seasons.

Lastings Milledge was 20 years old last year. In St. Lucie, A ball, he hit .302/.385/.418 with 4 homers, 15 doubles, 0 triples, and was 18 for 31 in stolen bases all in 62 games. Moved up to AA Binghampton he actually hit better. In 48 games he hit .337/.392/.487 with 4 homers, 17 doubles, 0 triples, and was 11 for 16 in stolen bases. Defensively Milledge is a very good outfielder. He has good range and a strong arm. He is a natural centerfielder but will probably play left field if he stays with the Mets. His minor league career line is .313/.382/.485 in three seasons.

I think Kendrick and Milledge are similar type hitters. I know it's probably difficult to compare them since one is an outfielder and the other is a second baseman that is two years older. But I have to ask the question, who would you rather have?

Poll
Who would you rather have?
Howie Kendrick
104 votes
Lastings Milledge
103 votes

207 votes | Poll has closed

Comment 39 comments  |  0 recs  | 

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Vote for Lastings
Hitting is the only tool where Kendrick has an advantage, and given their ages and leagues, one could argue thery're nearly equal.

by Mr Met @ Minor League Ball on Feb 1, 2006 2:05 PM EST reply actions  

Kendrick, easily
I can't believe Lastings Milledge is winning this poll. Must be a lot of Mets fans on right now.

Kendrick has hit for higher average and higher ISOP at every level. Milledge is faster, but Kendrick is actually a better basestealer. Their plate discipline is equally mediocre.

I don't see where Milledge wins, except that he's more valuable defensively. Milledge is younger than Kendrick, but it's not like Kendrick is old for his league, so I have a hard time holding that against him.

by FI @ Minor League Ball on Feb 1, 2006 2:18 PM EST up reply actions  

quibble quibble
I would rate Kendricks plate discipline as pretty far below average. Corey Patterson type. Except for the fact that Kendrick apparently hits everythign he swings at, and hits it good (at least according to the numbers)
A wise man once said: "There is no down or up, left or right. There is only center"

by ohad @ Minor League Ball on Feb 1, 2006 2:15 PM EST reply actions  

Kendrick
He supposeofly has incredible hand eye coordination and that makes him able to hit the ball so well.
when your ERA has letters and not numbers, it's a bad thing- kevin goldstein

by WakeboardJock @ Minor League Ball on Feb 1, 2006 2:46 PM EST up reply actions  

yup
i had always thought that Howie Kendrick was slightly flukish. Like playing in a hitters league, bad plate discipline etc.

But once i actually looked at it, i realized how wrong i was. I made a post about this a few weeks ago, but i think it's fair to assume he's pretty special

A wise man once said: "There is no down or up, left or right. There is only center"

by ohad @ Minor League Ball on Feb 1, 2006 3:13 PM EST up reply actions  

& a little prodding from BP...
...doesn't hurt, either.  :-)  Projecting 6th in EqA among 2Bman in MLB (!), & 1st in vorp.

by Azteca on Feb 1, 2006 3:17 PM EST up reply actions  

I know very little about Lastings but...
if I would rate a player's value I would look at 3 elements; character, skill and organization. I believe Kendrick  has an impecable attitude, high skill level and he is in a wonderful organization. I don't know about his attitude, his skill level is high and he is in a average to poor organization so Lastings rates behind Kendrick (on organization alone).  As for Kendrick never being a great fielder, if he can raise himself from poor to average, why not average to good?
Yoda

by Yoda @ Minor League Ball on Feb 1, 2006 3:45 PM EST reply actions  

Milledge
Everything I've hear about Milledge suggests he is hard-working with an adaptive attitude that will serve him well as he continues to improve.

by FI @ Minor League Ball on Feb 1, 2006 3:52 PM EST up reply actions  

Kendrick
I'll take Kendrick,  because he plays a position that is traditionally regarded as the weakest offensive position on the field.  If he can manage to hit anything close to that at the major league level, he becomes a very valuable second baseman.  All he has to do is maintain average defense.  Heck, with that bat, even slightly below average defense I can live with.

Worse case scenario: he moves to third base and becomes a rich man's Bill Mueller.

by SmokeyJoeWood on Feb 1, 2006 6:41 PM EST reply actions  

except
for that good plate discipline thing.

by npurcell on Feb 1, 2006 7:55 PM EST up reply actions  

Howie Kendrick Review
Here's the review I wrote last November on Howie Kendrick.

------------------------------------------

Arkansas Travelers Manager Tom Gamboa was quoted as saying that Howie Kendrick might be the next Tony Gwynn (okay, Gwynn was left-handed), and after the year Howie posted who could argue with him?  Kendrick would be the top prospect in most organizations, and vindicates Angels legendary scout/manager Tom Kotchman's recommendation to select this unknown out of a Florida community college.  The Angels drafted Howie in the 10th round of the June 2002 draft, based largely on his excellent hand-eye coordination.  His approach at the plate is simple -- look for a fastball and adjust to what he sees, something that only hitters with fast hands and hand-eye coordination can do.  (Another is Casey Kotchman, Tom's son.)  The physical skills are one reason to compare him to Gwynn; another is the relatively low walk rate.  Howie's approach at the plate fits in perfectly with the Angels' "Contactball" style of play; it's not hard to envision him a #2 or even #3 in their lineup, behind speedier brethren, although his high OBP might put him in the leadoff slot too.  "Contactball" is based on the fact that a hit moves up a runner while a walk doesn't (unless it's a force); Kendrick walked only 20 times in 2005, driving nuts the "Moneyball" crowd, who are scratching their heads trying to figure out how a guy could have a 1.000 OPS without taking a lot of walks.  As with all young hitters, there's a question of how much power will eventually manifest itself, but it's beginning to look like Kendrick could have the explosiveness at the plate to bat in the #3 slot; in the post-season AFL, Kendrick had an AVG/OBP/SLG of .380/.405/.603 in 121 AB.  The only knock on his game has been his defense, but he continues to work hard at improving that aspect too.  Although he'll never be as flashy as Alberto Callaspo, he'll more than get the job done defensively to warrant recognition as the heir apparent to Adam Kennedy, who's signed through 2006.  One major decision this off-season for Angels management will be to choose between Kendrick and Callaspo, although who knows what trade offers may bring.  For the last two years, analysts talked about Callaspo and Erick Aybar as the Angels' infield of the future, but barring trades or injuries that future middle-infield now appears to be Kendrick and Brandon Wood, perhaps as soon as 2007.  Injury notes: Kendrick missed two months in 2004 with a groin injury, and a month this year with a strained left oblique muscle.

by FutureAngels on Feb 1, 2006 11:37 PM EST reply actions  

Thank You FutureAngels
FutureAngels.com will be missed.

by cronie on Feb 1, 2006 11:51 PM EST up reply actions  

the future
futureangels.com is still going....just in a different format with different content.

by kolbotn @ Minor League Ball on Feb 2, 2006 8:45 AM EST up reply actions  

One thing
You can't expect a high OBP when he only walks 20 times a year.

by limozeen on Feb 2, 2006 12:00 AM EST up reply actions  

...unless
he gets over 190 hits

by The Rocc on Feb 2, 2006 12:15 AM EST up reply actions  

Really?!
Who am I?

I had 190 hits in 2005, and had an OBP of .300 even.

Policeman: Sir, are you classified as human? Korben Dallas: Ah, negative. I am a meat popsicle.

by finman on Feb 2, 2006 1:23 PM EST up reply actions  

Without checking the stats...
Soriano would be my first guess.  Unless Jose Reyes managed that many hits, which is easier when you never walk.

by abbreviatedman on Feb 2, 2006 1:50 PM EST up reply actions  

Unlike Soriano and Reyes...
Kendrick doesn't have a huge K rate...so I doubt his OBP will drop dramatically.

by The Rocc on Feb 2, 2006 3:36 PM EST up reply actions  

since when
does Reyes have a huge K rate? For a young player, he didn't strike out very much at all, especially Post All-Star.

by jeck on Feb 2, 2006 3:50 PM EST up reply actions  

Reyes and Soriano
They are very different players. Soriano has great power and little contact ability. Reyes has little power and good contact ability. Their only similarities are offensive speed and walk rate.

Kendrick IMO will be a lot like Nomar Garciaparra. He's a player who puts the ball in play, and puts it in play with authority. His walk rate will never be great, but he won't strike out a lot, either. He's a fantastic prospect.

by jc3 on Feb 2, 2006 3:54 PM EST up reply actions  

Having actually checked it out, it was Reyes.
I think Hendrick definitely has the upside of a Nomar type, and I hope he is (without the brittleness).  But very few players can swing at everything and succeed, a la Nomah or Vlad.  Then again, he's young and hasn't needed to walk yet.  We'll see.

by abbreviatedman on Feb 2, 2006 4:01 PM EST up reply actions  

Hmm.
I guess my point is I'd still take Lastings.  Plus, his name's better.

by abbreviatedman on Feb 2, 2006 4:02 PM EST up reply actions  

i enjoyed
The funny A's comments. "Driving nuts the moneyball crowd". I don't think the moneyball crowd could care less how much he walks, and also i think the "moneyball" crowd realizes that he has amazing hand eye coordination. No head scratching there.

Also, "contactball" is pretty funny. It reminds me of Ozzie Guillens "Heartball", "Gutball", "Spleenball", "Blatterball", "smartball", and various other "balls" he came up with to justify the WS win.

A wise man once said: "There is no down or up, left or right. There is only center"

by ohad @ Minor League Ball on Feb 2, 2006 7:08 AM EST up reply actions  

As if...
The very large amount of homers they hit wasn't the only thing actually good about their offense.

by abbreviatedman on Feb 2, 2006 1:51 PM EST up reply actions  

I find this an interesting comment.
The Sox hit 85 homers on the road.  Average was 86.3.  They scored 374 runs on the road.  Average was 381.  Here are some other numbers:

Road stats:
            Sox    AvgTeam
Batting Avg  .267     .264
On-base%     .325     .324
Slugging     .409     .416
Runs         374      381
HR            85      86.3
SB            67      44

I am aware, and have posted before here, that their division will make the road power numbers lower than they would be in a "neutral" division.  But still, this doesn't look anything like a team who's only asset is their ability to hit homers.  

by BobbyMac on Feb 2, 2006 10:04 PM EST up reply actions  

Very elucidating.
I wasn't aware how pretty much exactly average they were on the road, offensively.  Thanks.

I guess my statement is more accurate in their home games, where they truly relied on the home run.  At home, they were dead last in average and OBP and several related categories, 2nd to last in 2Bs, but 3rd in home runs, good enough to make them 7th in home scoring.

Spleenballers would argue that they weren't one-dimensional, because they ran so much, being 3rd in SBs, but they also had one of the worst SB%s at 67%.  So basically they were just sending them whether they could make it or not, which can't be good for scoring runs, especially when you're hitting so many homers.

by abbreviatedman on Feb 3, 2006 1:40 PM EST up reply actions  

Comparing Apples and Oranges
Why is this diary here?

I'm not complaining. I'm asking this question because it'd make more sense if we were comparing 2 players of the same position, same age, same set of tools and are at the same level. However, the comparison between Milledge and Kendrick makes no sense. They both reached the AA Level in 2005, but thats about it.

Kendrick- .359/.404/.555 (142/68 K/BB in 1182 ABs)
Milledge- .314/.382/.485 (166/62 K/BB in 793 ABs)

Do you see any similarities? I don't.

Production like Kendrick's at 2B doesn't come too often, however Lastings' production at OF at isn't anything rare. Delmon Young is the same age as Milledge and has him beat in both batting average(.317), slugging(.531) and OPS(.901)and only trails him in OBP by .012(.370) in 300 more ABs.

Since Milledge isn't even a better overall hitter than Young, what makes people think that Milledge is better than a more advanced hitter in Kendrick?

by The Rocc on Feb 2, 2006 11:24 PM EST reply actions  

re:
I don't think anyone's claiming Milledge is a more advanced hitter than Kendrick. The question is who would you rather have, and that comes down to how much risk you want to take. It's pretty clear Kendrick is going to be a very good ballplayer, while Milledge might end up as only average. On the other hand, if Milledge takes a Carlos Beltran type career path, would you still rather have Kendrick? Doubtful.

I voted for Milledge, but it's so close that it really depends on the team. A Milledge-Kendrick swap between the Mets and Angels would actually make sense for both sides given their respective organizational strengths.

by jeck on Feb 3, 2006 12:59 AM EST up reply actions  

It's not like....
Carlos Beltran in Shea Stadium is a good combination, just look at last year's numbers.
So if Lastings is a Beltran-clone, should we expect 15-20 HRs at max in Shea?

If Kendrick is pretty much handed the job when/if Kennedy leaves, without any contraversy...I'd pick Kendrick in a hitter-friendly stadium over Milledge in Shea's oft-pitcher friendly stadium. I don't know if the Mets new stadium is built to be(hitter-friendly or pitcher-friendly), so this may change.

I personally think Milledge may be a little overrated, seeing that he's not exactly setting the world on fire and his alleged speed was proven in the AFL to be a bit overexaggerated.

by The Rocc on Feb 3, 2006 1:24 AM EST up reply actions  

Hmm
So if Lastings is a Beltran-clone, should we expect 15-20 HRs at max in Shea

Should we expect anyone to get a debilitating calf injury?

by limozeen on Feb 3, 2006 1:27 AM EST up reply actions  

True, but where's Milledge's Beltran-like power?
If you look at his minor league HR totals, he doesn't seem to be launching many out of the park.

Maybe the Mets made a mistake when they drafted him so highly...

by The Rocc on Feb 3, 2006 1:31 AM EST up reply actions  

Please
Yeah, 12th overall is a huge reach for the consensus No. 2 high school hitter (behind Delmon) of the '03 draft.

by Mr Met @ Minor League Ball on Feb 3, 2006 10:40 AM EST up reply actions  

the same place Beltran's was
That's exactly why I'm using the Beltran comparison. Through age 20:

Beltran
14.5 AB/XBH
47.6 AB/HR

Milledge
9.0 AB/XBH
34.5 AB/HR

Power develops.

by jeck on Feb 3, 2006 1:13 PM EST up reply actions  

Speed was overexaggerated?
Milledge was 7 of 9 on SB's in the AFL. Only Josh Anderson and Charlton Jimerson had more steals with a better percentage. 7 steals in 24 games comes out to around 47 in a full season. I'm not sure how this proves his speed was overexaggerated, especially when most everyone expects this part of his game to improve with experience...

by MetfanBren on Feb 3, 2006 3:21 PM EST up reply actions  

Don't get the logic
Because Millidge isn't better than the consensus #1 hitting prospect in baseball, he's not better than a second, unrelated player?

by limozeen on Feb 3, 2006 1:22 AM EST up reply actions  

The question is...
Why are we comparing Kendrick and Milledge in the first place?

Someone made a false comparison with Milledge and Kendrick and it makes no sense at all.

by The Rocc on Feb 3, 2006 1:26 AM EST up reply actions  

There's nothing wrong with this comp
It's simply asking who you think will be more valuable.  In a way, it's a really good comp because there are serious questions about both players' offensive futures.  They're both a little unorthodox for premium prospects in that Kendrick doesn't walk much and Millidge's power has yet to truly come around.  I voted for Kendrick because I think his skillset at 2B is more valuable than Lastings's in a corner OF position, or even in centerfield.  If Millidge comes out and gets 70 XBHs next year, my opinion might change.

by limozeen on Feb 3, 2006 1:31 AM EST up reply actions  

Well...
It's not like Kendrick's strikeout totals are horrendous. He's got 4 less strikeouts than Milledge does in 400+ more ABs.

If you can hit the ball whenever you're up at bat, why does it matter if he walks or not? As long as he gets on base, right?

However, I know what you're saying.

I was just wondering why this guy had a "VS" diary about 2 different kinds of hitters.

by The Rocc on Feb 3, 2006 1:38 AM EST up reply actions  

Comp
I liked the comparison, too. Hadn't seen it before, but it makes sense.

I think it boils down to: Kendrick has had the better minor-league career, no question. But Milledge, based on his tools, age and position, projects as a more valuable big leaguer.

It's very close. I like 'em both.

by Mr Met @ Minor League Ball on Feb 3, 2006 10:38 AM EST up reply actions  

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