Ezequiel Duran is proving that a little bit of confidence goes a long way in baseball

The last two seasons, Ezequiel Duran was looking more like a lost cause that the Texas Rangers were keeping around way longer than they should've. Not once did that dismay the 26-year-old, and now he's proving why.

Thrust into the daily lineup with injuries to players originally trusted to be top producers, Duran wasn't just the only option but also had the results to back it up. In 41 games, Duran is batting .295 with four home runs, 23 RBIs, 11 doubles, one triple, .352 on-base and .840 OPS.

All in all, it all comes down to confidence. Which is something that the Rangers say Duran never once lost.

Duran's 2025 season was enough to kill his spirit, but it didn't

Mentioning Duran's last two seasons, Duran was probably at the lowest point of his career, most definitely the lowest since joining the Rangers as part of the 2021 Joey Gallo trade.

After contributing masasively in the first half of the team's 2023 World Series year, he saw playing time dip once the every day players returned and recorded just 205 at-bats last season. Worse off, he made franchise history as the first player since 2010 to go homer less in at least 200 at-bats.

Such an historical bad season is one that can ruin any sort of confidence the player has left. Instead, Duran took it as a learning moment and over the offseason in the Dominican Winter League batted .338, got on base at a nearly 40 percent clip, homered two times and drove in nearly two dozen runs (22) in 36 games.

Moving that success into spring training didn't go as he anticipated, losing out to Josh Smith in the team's battle for the second base job. Ultimately, Smith's struggles and eventual IL stint opened the door for Duran.

First, he exorcised those home run demons in the third game of the season, hitting a leadoff solo shot off Zach Eflin in the third inning to give Texas a 1-0 lead in a game they'd eventually win 8-5 against the Orioles.

Now in May, he's hitting an even .300 heading to Southern California for a divisional matchup with the Los Angeles Angels. His 21 hits and three homers are second-best on the team while his 15 RBIs lead the offense this month.

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