Duran hits new career heights for Miracle
Jhoan Duran was in uncharted territory Sunday.Minnesota's No. 7 prospect recorded a career-high 14 strikeouts over six innings in his longest outing of the season, but Class A Advanced Fort Myers fell to Daytona, 5-3, at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. He gave up two runs -- one earned -- on one hit
Minnesota's No. 7 prospect recorded a career-high 14 strikeouts over six innings in his longest outing of the season, but Class A Advanced Fort Myers fell to Daytona, 5-3, at Jackie Robinson Ballpark. He gave up two runs -- one earned -- on one hit and two walks.
"I put a lot of focus on attack plans toward hitters," Duran said through Miracle translator Hector Lujan. "I was getting on top with my fastball and was in a good rhythm with my breaking ball and putting guys away."
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The 21-year-old right-hander had dominant stuff from the outset, with four of his 12 pitches in the first inning reaching double-digits and topping out at 101 mph. He opened the contest by striking out
Duran ran into trouble in the third. After whiffing
After Twins No. 14 prospect
"During that [third] inning, I wasn't focusing on outcome," Duran explained. "I just had to stick to my plan. As soon as the fourth came around, I completely forgot about it. The quick inning got me back into the groove and let me pitch longer in to the game."
The organization's second-ranked pitching prospect, who didn't factor into the decision, threw 59 of a season-high 96 pitches for strikes in his longest outing since going seven innings for Class A Cedar Rapids last Aug. 18.
Duran came to the Twins as part of the Eduardo Escobar trade with Arizona last July. Although he sports an 0-4 record, he lowered his ERA to 4.08 and his WHIP to 1.16. Last season with Kane County and Cedar Rapids, he went 7-5 with a 3.75 ERA and 115 strikeouts over 100 2/3 innings in 21 starts.
"There's been a big focus on delivery," he added. "I feel like I'm using my lower half a lot better and I'm more in sync. ... The biggest thing was getting work done no matter the outcome. Focusing on process, not results. Now everything is falling into place, because of the mentality of getting stuff done and not focusing on results."
Daytona rallied for three runs in the seventh to avoid a four-game sweep as Reds No. 14 prospect
Top-ranked Twins prospect
Katie Woo is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow her on Twitter @katiejwoo