2005 Arizona Fall League Notebook: Lastings Milledge

By Jack Magruder
November 7, 2005

SURPRISE, Ariz.--And the Lastings shall be first.

Even if it means coffee with the roosters and a 45-minute crosstown drive, New York Mets top prospect Lastings Milledge is so serious absorbing the nuances of hitting that he is a regular at Grand Canyon hitting coach John Mallee's 8 a.m. film study sessions this Arizona Fall League season.

"He spends time studying the game. He is constantly trying to learn and develop his swing,'' said Mallee, who has spent the last four seasons as Florida's roving hitting coordinator.

"He's a go-getter. He watches a lot of film; he will sit and watch the other guys so he can learn something. We'll watch it before we go out and do our early work, and a lot of times he's the early guy. He's committed.''

The early sessions have not hurt. Milledge, 20, has built on a solid regular season by going .321-4-18 in 81 at-bats for Grand Canyon, adding four doubles and five stolen bases as the fall league enters its final week. He is tied for fifth in stolen bases and his 19 runs are sixth.

If it means setting the alarm at 6:30 a.m., Milledge will do what it takes.

"I try to get out there (for early film study) three, four times a week. It's good to get the mind working early,'' said Milledge, the 12th overall pick in 2003 out of Lakewood Ranch High in Palmetto, Fla.

"I usually have all my ABs on video and we'll look at those, but sometimes it will be other guys. We just go back and forth with what we see. We just talk about hitting. He (Mallee) studies hitting. I study hitting. I've come up with a lot of stuff. You can learn something every day. You can look at film every day and still not break everything down, because hitting is that complex.''

For Milledge, who was a composite .318-8-46 with 32 doubles and 29 stolen bases while splitting time between high Class A St. Lucie and Double-A Binghamton in the summer season, it is all part of the one-on-one battle with the man on the mound.

"I always want the edge when I'm in the batter's box trying to beat the pitcher,'' he said. "I have to have that extra edge. I feel like I get that when I come in early and get my mind working.''

Milledge has hit leadoff much of the AFL season and, while a natural center fielder, also has spent time in left field because of the Rafters' glut of designated center fielders. With Carlos Beltran an apparent fixture in center for the Mets, Milledge's exposure to left field cannot hurt.

As a leadoff man, Milledge said his goal in the Fall League is pitch recognition.

"Just trying to play the role of a leadoff hitter. That's what I'm learning to do. That's coming along,'' he said.

Mallee has seen enough of Milledge to believe major league success is just a matter of time.

"He's one of the top five prospects in the league, no question,'' Mallee said. "His tools stand out. He can run. He can throw. His makeup is really good. His aptitude is very high. He's an aggressive hitter, and when he gets a pitch in his zone he is not going to take it. That's good.''

Milledge late last week was named to the United States' Olympic regional qualifying team that will play in a six-team tournament in the Phoenix area Nov. 15-20.

It will be Milledge's fourth experience representing his country--he had a walkoff single against Taiwan with the World Cup team over the summer. And if it lengthens an already long season, he does not seem to care.

"It really hasn't been that long to me, because I have it in my mind that I have to get better,'' Milledge said. "I don't care how long it takes.''

FALL GUYS

• Surprise shortstop Brandon Wood (Angels) set an Arizona Fall League record with his 13th home run in an 11-9 victory over Grand Canyon Nov. 5. Wood, the California League MVP after hitting 43 homers at Rancho Cucamonga this summer, was .284-13-29 in 26 games. He led the league in RBIs and was third in slugging percentage (.686). Wood is among the 19 Fall Leaguers who will be members of the 24-man Olympic qualifying team.

• With four games remaining in the regular season, American Division leader Phoenix was 20-8 (.714), a winning percentage that would set a league record. If the Desert Dogs win three of their final four, they would finish at .719, breaking Mesa's 1999 record. Mesa won the AFL championship in 1999, going 31-13 (.705) in the regular season before sweeping Maryvale in a best-of-three playoff series.

• Phoenix righthander Shane Komine (A's), a ninth-round 2002 draftee from Nebraska, led the league with a 1.14 ERA entering the final week, giving up only three earned runs in five appearances, all starts, covering 23 2-3 innings. He had walked three while striking out 18. Komine is coming off Tommy John surgery in July 2004, but topped out at 95 mph during the Texas League playoffs during the regular season. "He's been great this fall," Athletics farm director Keith Lieppman said. "We've had to watch his workload, but he's really responded against some pretty potent lineups."