the blazing Pirate comet called Zach Duke

From a 2004 BP article on underrated pitching prospects (joining Jeff Francis, Dan Meyer, Josh Banks, and Clint "What's My Name" GOOCHER):

"The Pirates selected Duke as a prep talent in the 20th round of the 2001 draft. He signed too late to pitch that season, but the following year he made a strong showing in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League. In 2003, he posted a 3.11 ERA and allowed only seven homers in 141.2 innings in the Sally League, but his strikeout rate took a notable dive.

"This season, however, he's assuaged all worries about his ability to dominate hitters. Despite pitching in probably the best hitter's park in the Carolina League, he leads the circuit in ERA and presently ranks third in strikeouts. Duke rarely reaches 90 with his fastball, but it has good movement and has been more than enough to complement one of the best curveballs in the minors. He's making good progress with his change this season, and he's still doing a fine job of keeping the ball on the ground. Duke dropped quite a few organizational jaws with his pre-spring training workouts this season, and he's close to being on the fast track. Don't be surprised if he's in Double-A by mid-July."

Prior to being called up this year (again, according to BP), he had a 2.92 ERA in Indy w/ a 66-23 K/BB ratio.

Yesterday's start was kinda sketchy, though - no runs, but lots of runners. (I know this because *shhh* he's on my fantasy team.) (Oh damn BB outed me.)

Is Zack Duke this years Noah Lowry? Lowry got off to a nice start last year with the Giants, perhaps not quite as good as Duke. With Duke being a lefty, Lowry came to mind.

Zach Duke
Month  ERA  WHIP  BAA  K/9 K/BB
July   0.87 1.16 .237 7.84 8.50 
August 4.12 1.58 .316 4.68 1.54

Randolph: "I didn't think he was anything dazzling, nothing exceptional about him. But he just mixes his pitches in real nice and kept us off stride."

http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/ny-spmside194389628aug19,0,5927073.story