Milledge and Burnitz?

Jeromy Burnitz was the Mets first-round draft pick in 1990; he reached Triple-A in 1992 and hit .243. And then hit .227 the next season, and .239 after that. The Mets gave up on him and traded him to Cleveland. He spent almost the entire 1995 season in Triple-A yet again.

In 1996, he was 27 years old and hit 16 career home runs in the majors. Eleven seasons later, he finished with 315 home runs, four 100-RBI seasons and an All-Star Game appearance.

You might not see the similarities between him and Lastings Milledge. Milledge has been hyped for years as the next big thing while Burnitz struggled all throughout his minor league career. Milledge and Burnitz were both first round draft picks with a lot of potential. Milledge quickly excelled unlike Burnitz.

The Mets traded Burnitz who ultimately had a solid career. The Mets traded Milledge who had almost endless potential without giving him a shot. Both players were traded in silly deals and like Burnitz, Milledge will end up having a good career and a better one than Burnitz.