Athletes - Zach Duke

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	Athletes - Zach Duke

Zachary Thomas (Zach) Duke (born April 19, 1983 in Clifton, Texas) is a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who currently plays for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Duke bats and throws left handed. He is considered one of the best pitching prospects in major league baseball.

Minor League Career

Duke was drafted directly out of high school in the 20th round of the 2001 draft, and began his career the following year with the Pirates' rookie leve Gulf Coast League team. He spent 2003 with the low-A Hickory Crawdads.

In 2004, Duke led all of minor league pitchers with a 1.46 ERA (24 earned runs in 148.1 innings pitched). He posted a 15-6 record in 26 combined starts between Class-A Lynchburg and Double-A Altoona, and his 15 wins tied for third-most among all minor league pitchers.

Following the 2004 season, Duke was named Pittsburgh's Minor League Pitcher-of-the-Year and earned Carolina League Pitcher-of-the-Year honors. He was selected by Baseball America as the sixth-best prospect in the Eastern League and the best pitching prospect (fourth-best prospect overall) in the Carolina League. He was also recognized by the publication as having the best breaking pitch in the league.

Major League Career

Duke started 2005 at Triple-A Indianapolis and was promoted to the Pirates in July 1 after going 12-3. After he was called up, Duke won three games and led all major league starters with a 0.87 ERA. Beside this, he did not allow an earned run to score in a span of 26.0 consecutive innings, which spanned his last four starts of the month. He was selected the National League rookie pitcher of the month for July.

On August 18, became the first rookie in Pirates history to win his first six decisions as a starter, as his six straight wins is the longest streak by a Pirates rookie since won seven straight decisions in 1978. He garnered his second straight NL Rookie of the Month recognition, after going 3-0 with a 2.83 ERA in five starts, including seven shutout innings of two-hit ball on his August 18 victory. He had his month cut short when he sprained his ankle in an August 23 outing against St. Louis, and was put on the 15-day disabled list. He was reactivated on September 16.

In September, he won 2 games and lost 2, though he posted a 1.80 ERA for the month.

In his first Major League season, Duke finished with an 8-2 record, 1.81 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 14 games and 84-2/3 innings.

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Athletes - Zach Duke

Minor League Career

Major League Career

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