Hayden Durke is a high upside arm who hasn’t been able to show it off much of late. Suspended for the 2023 season after transferring to Rice following a positive drug test that he unsuccessfully appealed on, in part, the grounds that he was “unknowingly exposed to a substance while (he) was a physical therapy patient,” the high-powered Louisiana-born righty has only been able to show what he can do in the Cape Cod League this summer.
[ninja_tables id=”21487″]FSS Event History: Durke was one of the stars of the 2020 National Tournaments playing for Team Louisiana Sheets, but had previous experience in them before that. It was the latter that earned him an opportunity at International Week in 2019, where he recorded four strikeouts coming out of the bullpen at Fenway Park in the event’s final game.
Current Ranking in Joe Doyle’s FSS Plus Top 600: 226
Joe Doyle on Durke:
Durke has pretty insane pitch data and has worked into the upper-90s at times. While durability and consistently have both come and gone for the young righty, teams know all about the upside and Durke could represent one of the bigger upside relief plays in this class. There’s not a huge track record here, but he can really spin a baseball and has been a high-follow in scouting offices for quite some time. This is the type of name that, while ranked in the day three category, could surprise everyone during the middle of day two.
Since 2003, he has covered multiple World Series and has worked high-profile events ranging from the MLB All-Star Game to the World Baseball Classic. In addition to his role working for the Future Stars Series that he's held since 2017, Ashmore currently serves as the beat writer of the Double-A New York Yankees affiliate, the Somerset Patriots, as well as national hockey writer and New York Jets game day beat reporter for The Trentonian.
A regular contributor to Baseball America, Ashmore has worked seven Super Bowls, 11 Stanley Cup Finals, the 4 Nations Face-Off, the NBA Playoffs, College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Frozen Four, Daytona 500, major UFC events and much more as he approaches 3,200 games covered in his career.
An avid card collector and sim racer, he lives with his wife, Sarah, their son William, and their beloved dog, Bailey, and cat, Smokey.
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