Ezequiel Alberto Duran…he and girlfriend, Carla, welcomed their first child, Samuel, in Sept. 2024…Duran fell off the international prospect radar after he failed to register with MLB following his 16th birthday in 2015…debated abandoning baseball after he went un-signed as an international free agent at age 17 in 2016, but was encouraged to continue pursuing a playing career by his mother, Ramona…was signed by the Yankees as an 18-year-old non-drafted free agent on 7/2/17 out of San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic…signed by NYY scouts Juan Rosario, Raymon Sanchez and Victor Mata… Ezequiel and Ramona remain extremely close, speaking with each other over the phone several times daily…grew up as an avid fan of the Boston Red Sox, idolizing outfielder Manny Ramírez…favorite musicians are J Balvin and Jay Wheeler… enjoys watching Tom & Jerry cartoons in his free time.
2024
Made Texas’ Opening Day roster for a secpnd straight year, spending the majority of his third Major League season with the Rangers (Opening Day-6/25, 7/29-end of season)…saw a dip in offensive production from his breakout 2023 campaign, hitting .246/.288/.321/.609 (66-268) with three home runs, 11 doubles, 20 RBI and 14 walks/63 strikeouts over 92 games/75 starts in 2024…produced a .286 (30-105) BA over his first 38 games from 3/28-5/31, but hit just .211 (15-71) with a .515 OPS in June before being optioned to Triple-A Round Rock on 6/26…slashed .277/.302/.554/.857 (23-83) with five home runs, two triples, four doubles, 16 RBI and three walks/19 strikeouts in 19 G with the Express, and was recalled by TEX on 7/29… batted .228/.276/.315/.591 (21-92) in 34 G with Texas to close the season…struggled against LHP (.209, 18-86, .494 OPS) after entering 2024 with a .259 (44-170) average and .803 OPS vs. southpaws…fared better against RHP (.264, 48-182, .663 OPS)…Duran’s overall .609 OPS figure was 10th-lowest mark among A.L. batters (min. 280 PA), bringing his career OPS mark from .725 to .690…participated in the Dominican Winter League with Aguilas Cibaenas for the second time (also 2022), hitting .303/.395/.440/.835 (33-109) with three HR, four 2B, 18 RBI, and 18 BB…ranked fifth on the club in RBI and sixth in hits.
2023
Made his first career Opening Day roster following a standout spring, going on to slash .276/.324/.443/.768 (112-406) with 14 HR, 46 RBIs and eight SB across 122 games in his first full Major League season…Saw action at six positions (excl. DH): SS (37 G/35 GS), LF (34 G/30 GS), 3B (22 G/19 GS), 2B (9 G), 1B (2 G/1 GS) and RF (1 G)…Served as club’s primary shortstop when Corey Seager endured an injured list stint from 4/12-5/17, starting 22 of TEX’s 32 games during that span at SS…Appeared on 10-day injured list from 5/27-6/3 (retro. 5/24) with mild right oblique discomfort…Batted .326/.367/.567/.934 (70-215) with 12 HR, 3B, 14 2B and 34 RBIs over first 62 games (thru 6/29), ranking among A.L. leaders over that span (min. 200 AB) in BA (1st) and SLG (2nd)…Produced a .220/.278/.304/.581 (42-191) slash line over last 60 games (beg. 6/30) and appeared in just 11 of TEX’s final 27 games (beg. 9/3)...Had career-best 17-G on-base streak from 4/18- 5/7, batting .369 (24-65) with 4 HR and 16 RBI…slashed .277/.320/.418/.738 (79-285) vs. RHP compared to .273/.333/.504/.837 (33-121) vs. LHP…was a far superior hitter at Globe Life Field, batting .301/.351/.515/.866 (59- 196) at home compared to .252/.300/.376/.676 (53-210) in away contests…11 of 14 HR came in Arlington…slashed .357/.390/.714/1.104 (20-56) with three HR, two 3B, seven 2B and 15 RBIs across 26 G/12 GS in Cactus League ‘A’ contests during Spring Training.
POSTSEASON: Did not see game action in postseason…was not included on Texas’ ALWC, ALDS or ALCS rosters during postseason, but was added to club’s World Series roster as injury replacement for OF Adolis García prior to Game 4.
2022
MAJORS IN 2022: Had contract selected from Double-A Frisco and made MLB debut on 6/4, marking the first of two big league stints on the campaign...recorded pair of hits, including first Major League HR (solo) on 6/5 vs. SEA...hit safely in 10 of first 13 career MLB games from 6/4-17, batting .308 (16- 52) with two HR and eight RBI in that span...became eighth player in club history to hit safely in 10-or-more of his first 13 career games...recorded three consecutive multi-hit efforts, 6/11-13, going 6-14 (.429) with two 2B, one HR and four RBI in span...optioned to Triple-A Round Rock 6/25 before being recalled on 7/21... hit safely in each of his first six games upon recall from 7/21-26 (.316/.381/.368)...recorded season-high eight-game hit streak from 8/4-14, slashing .355/.375/.516 with two 2B, one HR and three RBI during the run...optioned back to Triple-A Round Rock on 9/8.
MINORS IN 2022: Posted a .304/.346/.559 slash line with 16 HR and 57 RBI across 78 games with Double-A Frisco and Triple-A Round Rock, earning MiLB.com Organization All-Star honors in the process...began campaign at Double-A Frisco and slashed .321/.368/.582 over his first 45 games for the RoughRiders (4/8-6/3)...knocked in season-high five runs during multi-homer effort on 5/15 at Tulsa...sported the Texas League’s 5th-highest batting average and 6th-highest slugging (min. 150 AB) at the time of his initial callup on 6/4... pieced together a nine-game hit streak for Triple-A Round Rock from 7/8-17, netting him another callup to Texas on 7/21...was optioned back to Round Rock on 9/8, batting .269 (18-67) over his final 15 games, including a season-high five hits (2 HR) on 9/21 at Tacoma.
2021
Acquired from the New York Yankees on 7/29 in six-player trade involving OF Joey Gallo...combined for a .267/.342/.486/.827 slash line with 19 HR, 79 RBI and 19 SB in 105 G at the High-A level between Hudson Valley in the NYY org. and Hickory in the TEX organization…was one of four players at the High-A level to accumulate at least 19 HR and 19 steals in 2021 (also CR’s Michael Helman, ROM’s Jesse Franklin V, EVE’s Connor Hoover)…ranked among High-A leaders in total bases (T4th, 202), RBI (5th, 79), extra-base hits (8th, 47) and hits (10th, 111)…his average exit velocity (92.0 mph) was tied with Sherten Apostel for the highest among Texas farmhands (source: FanGraphs)…split time mainly between second base (44 GS) and shortstop (40 GS), but saw majority of action at shortstop following the trade…spent the early portion of the 2021 offseason playing in the Arizona Fall League, where he slashed .278/.333/.611/.944 (20-72) with three home runs and 12 RBI in 19 G for the Surprise Saguaros…earned selection to the league’s annual “Fall Stars” All-Star game on 11/13…was added to Rangers’ 40-man roster on 11/19 as protection from the Rule 5 Draft…rated by Baseball America as the no. 11 prospect in the NYY system entering 2021 and the no. 5 prospect in the TEX system following the trade.
2020
Did not play due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2019
Was named a Short-Season All-Star by Baseball America after hitting .256 (63-for-246) with 49R, 12 doubles, 4 triples, 13HR, 37RBI and 11SB in 66 games with short-season Single-A Staten Island…led the New York-Penn League in home runs and ranked second in runs, extra-base hits (29) and total bases (122), third in slugging (.496) and sixth in RBI…was ranked the No. 7 prospect in the NYPL by Baseball America…was named NYPL “Player of the Month” for July (.333, 36-for-108, 23R, 7 doubles, 2 triples, 7HR, 20RBI in 26G)…earned NYPL “Player of the Week” honors for 7/15-21 (.462, 12-for-26, 5R, 4 doubles, 2HR, 5RBI in 6G).
2018
Played in 53 games for Rookie-level Pulaski.
2017
Made his professional debut, hitting .393 (24-for-61) in 15 games with the DSL Yankees.
