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It’s pretty obvious you took a wrong turn somewhere when your home run total for the 2007 season (10) barely exceeds the number of times you’ve been arrested (6) since being drafted.
Such is the well-publicized and often maligned life of Nationals’ outfielder Elijah Dukes, who recently admitted to the USA Today that he needs to, “get it together.” Dukes was dealt to Washington in December in something of a dump deal for the Rays, who were clearly tired of his off the field antics. The final straw was literally a life-threatening phone call to his estranged ex-wife in which he threatened the life of not only her, but also her children.
A press conference held on Wednesday was Dukes’ chance to show the media that the Nats efforts to curb any further lapses in judgement have been effective. “I’ve been working on myself a long time,” Dukes told the Washington Post. “I finally found that breakthrough, and from now on everybody gets a chance to see the real Elijah Dukes.”
The support group the team has built around the promising 23-year old has had a lasting effect on him. The first was retired former All-Star shortstop Barry Larkin, who helped train Dukes in Orlando this winter. The second was an ex-cop named James Williams who is not subjected to the media and, as the Post eloquently put it, “knows “when Dukes goes to the bathroom . . . when he eats . . . when he works out . . . and when he goes back to Tampa.” Dukes describes his relationship with Williams as a father/son type, something he hasn’t been able to have with his real father, who has been in jail for murder since 1996. Finally, the team asked a rehabilitated veteran in first baseman Dmitri Young to mentor the young Dukes through spring training. Young has a history of alcoholism and a similar temper to Dukes, but he was one of the biggest bounceback candidates of the 2007 season and finally seems to have steered his career in the right direction.
Why should fantasy owners believe in a promising slugger with a checkered past? After all, he was the odd man out for a starting spot in the Nats outfield heading into spring training. A seven homer, 15 RBI effort in May sparked some interest from fantasy owners, but he quickly faded back into obscurity. The problem with overlooking him is that scouts have always raved about his natural ability, with Baseball HQ summing up his skill set best by saying he has a “million dollar swing combined with a ten cent head.” It’s worth noting he also has a polished approach at the plate, with an ability to control the strike zone. That approach can bee seen by his .75 batting eye (K/BB) last season in 184 at bats. The league average was .51 in the American League and .49 in the National League. If you combine that ability to judge strikes and balls with his ability to make contact with the ball and an increasing fly ball rate, it’s easy to see why I might suggest a power breakout could be in his future, assuming he can win a more prominent role. It’s not a ludicrous suggestion considering current right fielder Austin Kearns and current center fielder Lastings Milledge posted a .67 and .27 batting eyes in their combined major and minor league at bats last season.
So I didn’t need a press conference to declare my belief in Dukes this coming season, but we got one nonetheless. In said conference, Dukes added, “When I step out on the field, the things you heard in the past is going to go out the window.” I don’t know about you, but those sound like fighting words to me, and if so, it may be time to put up this Dukes.
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