A right-handed outfielder, he played in Major League Baseball for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays and Washington Nationals.

After finishing his high school career, he signed a national letter of intent to play football for North Carolina State University.

On April 2, 2007, in his first official at bat, Dukes got his first major league hit with a solo home run to center field in the fifth inning against the New York Yankees.

Dukes rebounded in June, hitting .292 with 4 home runs for the month, before injuring his knee on July 5, 2008, in a game against the Cincinnati Reds.

[9] On May 23, 2007, Dukes's wife NiShea Gilbert sought a restraining order against him after he threatened her life and the lives of their children.

[11] When the girl confronted Dukes to inform him about the pregnancy, he allegedly got angry and threw a bottle of Gatorade at her.

[9] When Dukes was traded to the Nationals, the team also hired an ex-police officer in the role of "Special Assistant: Player Concerns".

[9] Dukes was arrested in November 2010 for contempt due to failure to pay child support,[12][13] on March 2, 2011, for assaulting a pregnant ex-girlfriend.