Luis Durango, a left-handed slap hitter with blazing speed, is enjoying a breakout campaign in the New York Yankees system. Over 79 games across three levels, the 23-year-old Panamanian outfielder -- currently with the Double-A Somerset Patriots -- is batting .331 with a .362 on-base percentage and 44 steals.
Durango, listed at 5-foot-10 and 135 pounds, is a rarity in today’s game. Chandler Simpson and Billy Hamilton serve as the most obvious present-day comparisons, but to watch him hit is to be transported to a bygone era. One in which film clips were in black and white or did not exist at all.
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His repertoire features drag bunts, the Baltimore chop and an overall preponderance of soft ground balls, their deft placement aided by situational batting stances that include choking up on the bat and placing his hands far apart from one another. Sometimes, in the style of a softball player, he gets a running start in the batter’s box and is already on his way to first as he makes contact.
Like Wee Willie Keeler famously said, “Hit ‘em where they ain’t.” Or, if you hit ‘em where they are, run so fast that it’s a moot point. Why limit yourself to three true outcomes when baseball is a game of the infinite?
“I describe it as unique,” said Durango when asked about his hitting style, speaking through translator and coach Uziel Viloria. “And that’s what makes me special.”
Durango, whose father Luis Sr. played parts of three seasons in the Major Leagues, said that his love of baseball has existed “since I was in my mother’s womb.” He names “mi papa” as his favorite player, along with Ichiro, Brett Gardner and fellow Panamanian Mariano Rivera. He signed with the Cleveland Guardians organization in 2019 and spent four largely unremarkable seasons in the organization prior to the Yankees selecting him in the Minor League phase of the December 2024 Rule 5 Draft.
“I was not expecting it," he said, "but the moment I got here [to the Yankees organization], everybody was very welcoming and has shown a lot of love,” he said.
Durango started the 2026 season on a rehab assignment with the Single-A Tampa Tarpons, where he honed the approach that has led to his stellar season.
“[Yankees] hitting director [Jarret DeHart] believed that it was going to help me a lot,” he said. “Every hitting coach has been very good to me in terms of preparing me, giving me drills and different stuff that can help. … Speed was the biggest thing, and this was the best way to use it. Obviously sacrificing a little bit of power but making the best use of my speed by increasing the contact rate.”
The leap to Double-A is a big one for any developing player, but Durango immediately displayed the effectiveness of his unorthodox style. During his first game with the Patriots on July 29, he poked a ground ball down the third-base line (exit velocity 88.5 mph) and turned it into a triple, traveling from home to third in 11.06 seconds. The following evening, he drew a leadoff walk and proceeded to steal second, third and home (as part of a double steal).
During his time in Somerset, Durango has worked with hitting coach Michael Fransoso on his “running start” swing. He said that “the plan was to have it as a secret weapon, and I like it a lot.” As for choking up and hitting with his hands spaced wide, that’s “to reduce the distance between the barrel and my hands … to economize the amount of strikeouts.”
His secret weapons are not so secret anymore, due to clips of his play going viral and the Central New Jersey-based Patriots’ proximity to the New York City media market. Following a short stint on the injured list, he returned to the active roster on Wednesday and is now ready to end the season on a strong note.
“It’s been a big blessing, and I always give glory to God,” said Durango, regarding the increased attention he’s received. “I’m going to give everything I have and play with my heart every time I get the opportunity to go out there.”
Whether it’s Simpson or bygone players such as Keeler or Cool Papa Bell, Durango knows that those watching him will inevitably make comparisons to those that came before.
“It feels like a compliment to me, obviously,” he said. “But essentially, I want to be Luis Durango from the Yankees.”