The Yankees have an interesting mix of prospects right now. Some are right on the verge of breaking through, while others are relatively unknown to most fans. Ezequiel Duran is a player whose prospect status seems to be on the rise heading into 2020. The young Dominican second baseman found himself on both the Fangraphs Top 100 Prospects list (#85) and the ZiPS Top 100 Prospects list (#59). Let’s take a look at Ezequiel Duran.
Name: Ezequiel Duran Birthdate: May 22, 1999 Bats/Throws: R/R Position: Second Base Height: 5’11′ Weight: 185
Duran signed with the Yankees for only $10,000 on July 2, 2017. He spent his first professional season not far from home in the Dominican Summer League. Duran raked in his 15 games and 61 at-bats, hitting .393/.415/.754 with five doubles, four triples, three homers, and 11 RBIs.
The Yankees sent the young infielder stateside in 2018, and he struggled. In 53 games with Pulaski, Duran struck out 65 times, walking only nine times and had a slash line of .201/.251/.311. He had four homers and 20 RBIs. He turned it around last year, however, catching a lot of attention in the NY-Penn League. In 66 games, he knocked an impressive 13 homers and 37 RBIs. He hit .256/.329/.496 and had a wRC+ of 143. He struck out 77 times but drew more walks (25).
In 2019, 2B Ezequiel Duran paced the @SIYanks with 13 homers and 37 RBI. He also led the squad with 11 stolen bases. Coaches and teammates had lots of great things to say about the 20-year-old: pic.twitter.com/MS3XzBW791 — NYYPlayerDev (@NYYPlayerDev) November 23, 2019
Duran has always been viewed as an offense-first player, and that certainly is what caught people’s eye last year. He has quick hands, good bat speed, and good power, which plays to all fields. In fact, his 13 NYPL homers were a good example of how he could put the ball anywhere. That being said, there is room for improvement with Duran at the plate. He needs to work on his approach and contact.
In the field, Duran is likely to stick at second, and occasionally fill-in at shortstop. He has good hands and quick feet. A stocky, but athletic player, Duran’s draw is his bat, but he should be able to hold his own in the field.
This should be Duran’s first year of full-season baseball and a good test for the young infielder. Fangraphs and ZiPS see something they like about him, and if you want to know more about the way he landed on the ZiPS list, check out this article for some great information on Duran and ZiPS.
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