Barton vs. Milledge
by FrankCohen on Sep 29, 2009 2:45 PM EDT
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Which post-hype sleeper do you think will end up having more success in the majors when all is said and done, Oakland 1B Daric Barton or Pittsburgh OF Lastings Milledge?
Barton's having a nice little late season run in Oakland, and in doing so has at least played himself into strong consideration for a starting job with the A's next season. Milledge is not playing extremely well for the Pirates, but this change of scenery could pay off dividends in the long run. Let's hear some thoughts.
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milledge
just because his package of tools is more enticing and will keep getting him 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th chances in the league. Both will end up busts from what was expected of them circa 2005, but Milledge will hang around longer because of the athleticism and tools. Barton is a one dimensional player, and if that dimension doesn’t play out, he flames out of the league pretty quick
Barton
Barton is one of those guys that went from overrated to underrated in a heartbeat. People went from being in love with his approach (walks v k’s) to writing him off as not having enough power after a bad rookie season in the majors at 22 years old.
2008 was the first time since rookie ball that Barton K’d more than he walked in a season. Well 2009, he’s back to normal not only in AAA but in the majors. It’s not like he’s had a bit of a hot streak in the majors where he banged out a couple HR’s in a small sample size he’ll never be able to reproduce, he’s hitting like he used to. He’s walking more than he’s striking out, he’s showing good gap power and he’s handling both LHP and RHP well.
All Barton needs is to add a little more pop, and I’m talking like 50 or so pts to his ISO and he’d be a very, very good player. Would he be a superstar? No, probably not. But he’d be a good player.
Milledge on the other hand, doesn’t walk, doesn’t hit for power and strikes out like crazy. He can defend, but that’s it. Perfect 4th OF who might have a good season or two in his prime. Nothing more.
He can defend?
Barton is probably a better defender than Milledge, even taking position into account.
Linda's in the cold ground, won't see her anymore
Somewhere out on the highway tonight, the drunken engines roar
It's just one of those things, one of those things
-- Al Stewart, "Accident on 3rd St."
In memory of Nick Adenhart and all victims of drunk driving
+ 1
I also think if Barton can just add a little more pop…he could be a solid 1B. Not huge HR numbers ..but could get 60-70 XBH a year with a high 3 low 4 OBP. I think Milledge may figure it out…just dont think he will does as was projected of him a few years back. Solid OF with some solid years.
I do believe
that Eric B is President:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ovpOCPm9Jk
Milledge was 2 years old when this came out. Squid, were you born yet?
Depends
I think Barton will be a consistently average player.
But then, L-Millz is more likely to put together a few great seasons, a few “meh” seasons, and a few bad ones. Think the Oliver Perez of position players. Millz has the better tools, on the other hand.
"I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it" ~ Mae West
I'd be happy with him over Francoeur
"We must win and we must know how to win rather than win because we have statistical people."
Milledge
I don’t think Barton will ever be an average first baseman. He’ll likely be an above-average hitter in general, and better than Milledge, but won’t be worth starting because of positional value.
I like steak.
He's playing like an above average 1B right now, for what that's worth
His 2009 performance, over the course of a full season, extrapolates out to about a 3 WAR player. And he just turned 24 a month ago.
by thejd44 on Sep 30, 2009 2:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Milledge had a very good second half last year
Not saying it means anything, but Barton’s performance now could be fluky.
"We must win and we must know how to win rather than win because we have statistical people."
Why would it be?
He’s doing pretty much what everybody thought he would do a few years back – not striking out too often, walking plenty, and showing reasonable power. His BABIP is 30 points higher than it was last year, but 30 points lower than it was in his other minor league years (a .305 BABIP with an 18% LD rate also seems pretty reasonable). His ISOP is 30 points higher than it was last year, but still a little less than it was in the minors. This, a 1B with an .800-.850 OPS seems about what was reasonable to expect in the minors, and about what is reasonable to expect now. I think he’s a slightly above average 1B, but just not a star.
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by OldProspects on Sep 30, 2009 7:39 PM EDT up reply actions
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