Mets Prospect - 1B Lucas Duda

Lucas Duda 1B L R 6-4 225 2-3-86 USC

Duda had a career .275 batting average at USC and hit .278 in 2007, with a team-high 6 home runs. He also performed very well last year with a wood bat in the Northwoods League.

From his college web site:

2007
In his 2007 junior season, Duda made 51 of 53 starts in left field...drafted in the seventh round by the New York Mets...led the team with seven home runs...on April 6 at No. 9 Oregon State, he hit two triples including a two-run hit to break a 1-1 tie in the eighth during USC's 4-1 victory...went 3-for-4 with two RBI on March 27 at UC Riverside... had a career day on March 25 against No. 17 Arizona State with two home runs and six RBI...hit a grand slam as part of an eight-run sixth inning against the Sun Devils and gave USC the 14-13 win with a walkoff, two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth...hit a three-run homer in USC's 6-4 win on Jan. 30 in the season opener against Cal Poly.

Summer
He batted .273 (59-for-216) with eight home runs, 12 doubles and 49 RBI for the Alexandria Beetles of the Northwoods League...he was named as a Northwoods League All-Star and also earned the Silver Glove Award at first base.

2006
Duda started in 54 games as a 2006 sophomore, playing as the Trojans' first baseman...he batted .298 (57-for-191) with three home runs and 36 RBI...stole four bases in six attempts...had a 4-for-9 day with two doubles, a triple and two RBI in the doubleheader at Stanford on April 1...went 6-for-12 with four RBI in the Stanford series (March 10-12)...on March 4 against Georgia, he went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI with his home run tying the game at eight apiece in the fifth, leading to a 12-11 win...clubbed his first homer of the season on Feb. 4 against Long Beach State and had a four-hit game on Feb. 7 at UC Riverside.

2005
Poised to have a solid 2005 freshman season, Duda sat out a month with a wrist injury suffered in the March 25 game against Arizona State during a collision at first base...started in 23 of 34 games and batted .208 (16-for-77) for the season with a home run and 11 RBI...hit his first collegiate home run on March 19 in a 10-0 win against Stony Brook in Irvine, Calif., as part of a 2-for-4 day and season-high three RBI.


Duda was drafted in the 7th round of the 2007 draft by the Mets. He was signed and assigned to the 2007 Brooklyn Cyclones roster, where he batted .299/.398/.462 in 234 at bats, 4 HRs, 32 RBIs, 20 doubles, only 6 errors.
In late January 2007, Baseball America listed Lucas as the 29th top Mets prospect.

In February 2008, MiLB.com came out with their top 15 prospects out of the Hawaiian Winter League:

14. Lucas Duda, Waikiki BeachBoys, 1B (New York Mets)

Had Duda been entrenched in Waikiki's lineup from the get-go, instead of joining the squad midseason as an injury replacement, the slugging USC product would have competed for league all-star honors. In 15 games and a resulting 59 plate appearances, Duda notched a .340 batting average coupled with a .660 slugging percentage with six doubles, a triple, three home runs and 13 RBIs. While the Los Angeles native needs some time to smooth out a few rough edges of his game, including his defense at first base and possibly one of the corner outfield spots, Duda's raw power and size should allow him to move up the ladder quickly

A May 2008 scouting report by Andy Braunstein:

Lucas Duda - 1B - He has the bat speed, the power to hit prodigious HRs to remain a force in the middle of the order. Has the bat control to be a #3 hitter, even #2. Is a good fielder. Has better hitting ability than Michel Abreu, Nick Evans and Mike Carp and a better glove. Would be the last one I would trade of the 4, and 1B is a position the Mets are going to need someone next year.

Duda played the entire 2008 season for St. Lucie, hitting .263/.358/.398 in 483 at bats, 11 HRs, 66 RBIs.


Mack - Duda has fallen off of my top 45 Mets prospect list. I go back two years agon when arrivees to the Savannah team told me that the sweetest bat in the Clones lineup was Duda. He got off to a great start last year in Lucy, but faded fast... Duda will have to come out of the box with a bang or he will find Ike Davis crawling up his first base mit by the all-star break.