Milledge sent to AAA

[Eric_the_Red]

The Nats have sent Lastings Milledge down to AAA. He has struggled out of the gate, and they have plenty of OFers.

I wonder if the organization has soured on him enough to deal him? I think he will eventually be a 20 HR threat with 30-40 SB speed. I think maturity and whether or not he takes those next steps to progress will be the key issue.

[REDblooded]

Originally Posted by Eric_the_Red

The Nats have sent Lastings Milledge down to AAA. He has struggled out of the gate, and they have plenty of OFers.

I wonder if the organization has soured on him enough to deal him? I think he will eventually be a 20 HR threat with 30-40 SB speed. I think maturity and whether or not he takes those next steps to progress will be the key issue.

Dukes is the best OF'r they have... Now that he's matured (or so it seems), he's about to put up Matt Kemp style numbers...

[Ghosts of 1990]

This guy is killing my fantasy team. I needed 20 HR and 30 SB out of him.

[xavr1]

Milledge has been a fantasy disappointment ever since he was called up with the Mets. Lots of "potential," but very little production. Getting sent down by the Nats is especially demoralizing...

[Bumstead]

Milledge was Bowden's boy. Another OF prospect that didn't make it in his original organization brought in by Bowden hoping to catch lightening in a bottle. The new WAS 'regime' is not going to be patient with Bowden's boys. While Dukes has a ton of talent, Dunn is clearly WAS best OF. Dukes needs to stay out of jail and actually put up some numbers before he can be declared even the Nats 2nd best OF. At least now he can play everyday. Maybe now Willingham can get some AB's for them as well.

Bum

[schmidty622]

Originally Posted by JayBruce32

This guy is killing my fantasy team. I needed 20 HR and 30 SB out of him.

If you are counting on Milledge to produce for your fantasy squad you got big problems. What a terrible gamble.

[PhillipsHead]

Milledge is not going to pan out .... this is why he still hasn't been cut from the Nats ... they have no better ...

[Hey Meat]

They cut loose Willy Mo in late March too didn't they?

[Nasty_Boy]

I think this is jumping the gun. The kid is talented and I bet he's going to be a player once he matures. I've wondered how bad of a start Bruce would have to have to get sent down?

[REDblooded]

Originally Posted by Bumstead

Milledge was Bowden's boy. Another OF prospect that didn't make it in his original organization brought in by Bowden hoping to catch lightening in a bottle. The new WAS 'regime' is not going to be patient with Bowden's boys. While Dukes has a ton of talent, Dunn is clearly WAS best OF. Dukes needs to stay out of jail and actually put up some numbers before he can be declared even the Nats 2nd best OF. At least now he can play everyday. Maybe now Willingham can get some AB's for them as well.

Bum

Clearly?

You must think the only thing to playing the outfield is being able to hit home runs....

[Bumstead]

Yes clearly; Dunn has actually produced in his career. What has Dukes done? He's been in trouble more than he has been in the lineup (you prefer wife beaters to real ballplayers?). Has he even got 300 AB's in a season yet? Dunn does more than hit HR's. Take a look at his OPS for the last 7-8 years...it is comical to even compare these two players at this point in Dukes 'career.' If Dunn were on the Reds right now he would be our best OF. I know, you can't see the forrest for the trees...Dukes is a better defensive OF when he is on the field but then again there is more to being a baseball player than being able to play defense, right? Bring on the comedy and tell me how Dukes is a better OF than Dunn....only on a Reds site would this even be a debate...

Bum

[REDblooded]

To be 100% fair, I won't hide the fact that I'm not a huge fan of Dunn, and I swoon over upside... Also, I am FULLY aware of the risks involved with Dukes. He's not a great guy to put it mildly...

From The Baseball Cube

Dunn
Scouting Report
Power: 99
Speed: 44
Contact: 13
Patience: 98

Dukes
Scouting Report
Power: 85
Speed: 82
Contact: 23
Patience: 80

As far as Dunn is concerned, I can't argue his power, or his plate discipline.. However, I think his plate discipline does tend to hurt him at times.. IMO, he's too selective for his own good... As far as defense goes (the other 27 outs), Dunn is a joke. IIRC it was Japan who's strategy on offense in the WBC was to simply hit the ball to Dunn as often as possible.

Dukes also shows patience at the plate, has growing power potential, and is a threat on the bases... Also, granted it was a small sample size (101 ab's), but do you know that Dukes' OBP was 25 pts higher than Dunn's last season post all-star? His OPS was a full 100 pts higher...

Factor in the fact that Dukes has a much stronger arm in the outfield, makes better reads, and can cover more ground, and if I had to pick an OF'r between the two over the next 3 seasons, I would take Dukes.

[REDblooded]

http://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/blog...fantasy,155829

[Bumstead]

So...Dunn's only 5 years older than Dukes. Dukes has a grand total of 481 AB's in his 'career' with a .813 OPS and 24 HR's (15 SB's). Dunn has a career OPS of .902 OPS in 3893 AB's. Dukes is not a small man and will not continue to steal bases and will continue to get slower; however, he most likely will be a better defensive player in the OF, covering more ground, than Dunn his entire career (however long that may last). There is no comparison between the two players other than Dunn is a former Reds player that people on this site do not like for whatever reason. The Reds weren't constant losers because of him; you might as well give up that thought. I would put money on the fact that 3 years from now Dunn will still be a far superior player than Dukes. Dunn has been a consistent force his entire career.

Dukes has a lot of potential, good and bad, but I wouldn't bank my franchise's future on a guy like him. There are plenty of baseball players with as much talent as Dukes that a team can build a team around without having to deal with his off the field distractions. Tampa is a smart organization that knew what they were doing when they let WAS (Bowden) have him.

Besides that, it is only a matter of time until WAS figures out that they are better off with Willingham in LF and Dunn at 1B (where he is willing to play) than having Johnson in the lineup. As far as the WBC, I could care less; it is a meaningless delay to the MLB season.

Bum