Duran finds 'backup plan' at Twins' DR Academy

MINNEAPOLIS -- Every afternoon, when Jhoan Duran would make the walk across the Twins' Dominican Republic Academy to the classrooms, he couldn't help but think back to the words of his mother, who always pushed him to get an education while he grew up as part of a small, poor family in the 70,000-person municipality of Esperanza, towards the northwestern part of the nation.

Back in those early days, he didn't have much direction when considering even his immediate future. Like many kids in the baseball-crazed nation, Duran played baseball at home with his older brother, who pushed Duran to more seriously pursue the game as a career. Still, he wasn't sure what the coming years would hold.

"I didn't like baseball that much, but I didn't like to go to school, either, so I wasn't sure what I was going to do," Duran said through team interpreter Elvis Martinez.

But now, thanks to the Twins' continued efforts in providing a high school equivalency and life skills education alongside their baseball instruction at their development academy in Boca Chica, D.R., there looks to be a good deal more possibility in Duran's future after he was part of the academy's second graduating class on Jan. 29, 2020.

The Twins, in partnership with FOX Sports North, will highlight some of those stories and experiences among the young Latin American players at the complex on Wednesday evening, when the 30-minute documentary special, "Baseball in the Dominican Republic -- Twins Academy," will debut at 6:30 p.m. CT on FOX Sports North.

"I wish everyone knew the level of urgency that the academy puts into helping us, the ones that can graduate," Duran said. "The main thing I got out of it is that I want to make it in baseball, but I don't know if that's going to happen. Anything can happen. So, just having this start with my studies and having a diploma ... I have an education now that they were able to provide for me."

Life after baseball seems to be in the distant future for Duran, who is ranked by MLB Pipeline as the No. 5 prospect in the Twins' organization. He was added to the club's 40-man roster during the offseason ahead of his anticipated Major League debut sometime in 2020. The 22-year-old Duran is blessed with a sturdy 6-foot-5, 230-pound frame, a big fastball that sits in the high 90s, and a swing-and-miss "splinker" pitch -- somewhat of a hybrid between a sinker and splitter.

Still, when Duran arrived from the D-backs' organization in the 2018 trade that sent Eduardo Escobar to Arizona, those words of his mother stayed with him, and he said that he made the decision to commit to the two-year educational course at the Twins' academy in Boca Chica. He had signed his first professional contract at age 17, and like many of his countrymen, education originally took a backseat to his baseball development.

The Twins have worked hard to bridge that gap. When the franchise moved into the new Dominican facility in 2017, it worked with CENAPEC, an educational organization in the Dominican Republic, to expand its educational opportunities from English-language support to a full high school equivalency program.

"There's a great deal of pride and effort that's put into that," Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey said last spring. "I know this is important to the Pohlad family and important to [Twins president] Dave [St. Peter] and others that we invest in the entire athlete. It's important to us. It's exciting."

Baseball activity takes place in the mornings at the academy, with a short break before the athletes transition to classroom instruction in the afternoons. Classes range from social sciences, natural sciences, mathematics and Spanish language to the English language, with additional life skills instruction in areas such as sexual and reproductive health, safe driving, financial literacy, nutrition, cultural sensitivity and social media.

As the athletes get to know each other, they talk about life in the United States and their shared experiences away from their family and in various professional organizations as the days and nights pass by.

"Everything is a lot of fun," Duran said. "Coaches and staff, they want to make every single part of your day fun, because they want to make you feel comfortable there. Basically, when you're there, you're away from your family, so they become your family besides just being your coworkers."

It was a big day of pride for the Twins when Alex Banks, Jim Caceres, Wilfri Castro, Jesus Feliz, Jose Guevara, Nelson Roberto and Nomar Urdaneta officially became the first graduating class of the academy on Jan. 30, 2019.

Duran could have been on track to graduate in that class, but he first needed to finish his national exams. So, instead, he joined the next class and had his degree conferred this January, alongside Yeremi De La Cruz, Anthony Escobar, Luis Gomez, Danny Moreno, Anferny Olivo, Miguel Rodriguez and Miguel Angel Vallejo. Duran's parents, brother, sister and wife were all in attendance.

"I know that they were really proud, especially my mom, because of everything we'd been through and the way that they raised me," Duran said. "I can summarize it as a really proud moment for them. It was a proud moment for myself, because that was something personal, a personal goal that I had, but I think it was more proud for them. ... They were expecting me to do that at some point in my life, and I was just grateful that it happened this early for me."

As it turns out, Duran found an affinity for math, and he now thinks that he could work to become an accountant as a solid backup plan to his baseball career. Either way, his future now seems more secure -- and more certain.