Eric Duncan

Eric Anthony Duncan

• Bats Left Throws Right
• Height 6' 3", Weight 195-210 lbs
• High School Seton Hall Prep High School

• Born December 7, 1984 in Florham Park, NJ USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Eric Duncan was the New York Yankees first round choice in the 2003 amateur draft but never made the majors.

Duncan had slugged 1.090 and hit .535 as a high school senior. He won the Gatorade New Jersey High School Player of the Year Award and was a first-team Baseball America high school All-American, joining Brandon Wood and Ian Stewart in the non-1B infield category. The New York Yankees took him with the 27th pick of the 2003 amateur draft and he was signed by scout Cesar Presbott for a $1,250,000 bonus.

Duncan, a third basemen, did well in the low minors. He hit .278/.348/.400 with 12 doubles (fifth in the Gulf Coast League in 47 games for the GCL Yankees then was promoted to the Staten Island Yankees, for whom he batted .373/.413/.695 in 14 games. His .898 fielding percentage led GCL third basemen. Luke Hughes got the nod as the All-Star third baseman, but Duncan was rated the #1 prospect in the league by Baseball America, ahead of Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Tony Abreu and Matt Capps among others. They also rated him as the #10 third base prospect in baseball, right behind Chad Tracy and Kevin Youkilis.

Duncan led Yankees farmhands in 2004 with 69 walks. He hit .260/.351/.479 with 23 doubles, 12 homers, 52 runs, 57 RBI and 7 steals in 8 tries in 78 games for the Battle Creek Yankees. Promoted to the Tampa Yankees, he batted .254/.364/.458. Baseball America remained a fan, ranking as the #4 prospect at third base, directly behind Dallas McPherson and ahead of Andy LaRoche. He made the Midwest League All-Star team at third base. He was rated the #3 prospect in the MWL after Brian Dopirak and Daric Barton, right ahead of John Danks and Brandon Wood - and the #10 prospect in the Florida State League, between Tony Giarratano and Francisco Liriano. Finally, they rated him the top prospect in the Yankees organization.

After being promoted to the AA Trenton Thunder, Duncan struggled through the season hitting only .235, but set career highs in home runs (19). He had a OBP of .326, slugged .408, struck out 136 times in 451 AB and led the Eastern League's third basemen in errors (27). Baseball America ranked him as the EL's 17th-best prospect.

That fall, Duncan played in the Arizona Fall League and revived his stock. He was in the top 10 of nearly every offensive category - 8th in average (.362), 3rd in homers (8), 4th in RBI (27), 4th in doubles (9) and first in slugging (.734). For his fine hitting for the Grand Canyon Rafters, he was named the league MVP. He was rated the Yankees' #2 prospect by Baseball America.

In 2006, Duncan split time between Trenton and AAA Columbus Clippers. Once again Duncan struggled as he failed to hit over .250 in either league - .209/.279/.255 in 31 games in AAA and .248/.355/.485 in 57 at AA. He was dropped from the top 10 Yankees prospect list by Baseball America going into the 2007 season.

Back in AAA in 2007, Eric hit .241/.323/.389 for the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. He would continue to struggle over the next two years with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with his slash line going down each year until he was declared a minor league free agent after the 2009 season.

In 2010 Duncan signed with the Atlanta Braves and spent the season with the AA Mississippi Braves. There he bounced back with a .267/.323/.396. He then moved on to the St. Louis Cardinals organization staying in AA with the Springfield Cardinals. In Springfield he regained his power stroke hitting a career high 22 home runs with a .274 average, his highest average since 2003. For the 2012 season he signed a minor league contract with the Kansas City Royals. In spring training he suffered a torn quadriceps. The injury kept him out of action until May. After 52 games back Duncan announced his retirement in July.

Duncan became a coach with the Staten Island Yankees in 2015-2016, Tampa Yankees in 2017, and Tampa Tarpons in 2018. In 2019, he joined the Miami Marlins as their minor league hitting coordinator. On April 19th, he was promoted to assistant hitting coach with the major league team following the firing of Mike Pagliarulo. In 2020, he was promoted to hitting coach. In 2022 he moved to quality control coach.

Sources: 2004-2007 Baseball Almanacs, 2007 Yankees Media Guide, MILB.com