The Book on Shelley Duncan

Prospect Info

NYYShelley Duncan
Born 9/29/1979
1B, NYY

As if all the Duncan boys aren't already confusing sportswriters, how difficult is it to juggle the two first-base prospects on the Yankees?

Shelley has never been scout-ranked as highly as cousin Eric, but his late season performance in 2007 cannot be ignored. In 34 injury-fill-in games, Duncan slugged .554 with 7 home runs. (That's 35-homers in a full season.) Against a full season, his average of one home run every 10.5 at bats in 2007 would rank him higher than Carlos Pena (10.7), Alex Rodriguez (10.9), Ryan Howard (11.3) and Prince Fielder (11.5).

Most memorably, his OPS in Yankee Stadium was an eye-popping 1.055, making him Manhattan's favorite media darling until Joba came to town.

Where the Yanks find a place for Duncan next season is anyone's guess, but he's versatile enough to slot in easily. In addition to his native 1B and his frequent DH gigs, he also appeared in a dozen games in left and right field.

Ranking in ScoutingBook (7/8/2008): #101

Ranking in Baseball America 2008: n/a

Ranking in Baseball Prospectus: Unranked

Ranking in MiLB.com Season Preview Unranked

Ranking from the Sporting News: Unranked

Ranking from ESPN: Unranked

Player Updates and Notes

Yankees optioned first baseman-outfielder Shelley Duncan to Triple-A Scranton today. He saw action only once in the last two weeks with New York, which wasn't much of a chance for him to improve on his .175 average this season. He's a valuable pinch-hitter vs lefties, but his stock has fallen a lot since last season's miraculous showing.

6/13/2008 by KDaddy

Duncan was optioned to AAA today in a roster-shuffle to make room for an extra pitcher. He'll be back up shortly.

4/9/2008 by KDaddy

Shelley Duncan was released from an Arizona hospital last night after being treated for a blood clot, according to ESPN.

11/22/2007 by DataBoy

 

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