Ever since he was a prospect with the Washington Nationals, pitcher Dane Dunning was seen as a command-first guy.
That’s not always a compliment, though: it usually means that the pitcher’s stuff is not good enough and that caps their ceiling.
Dunning was part of the Lucas Giolito trade and found himself with the Chicago White Sox in 2020, when he made his MLB debut.
That year, he struck out 35 batters in 34 innings, posting a solid 3.97 ERA.
He was flipped to the Texas Rangers in the Lance Lynn trade and has been there since 2021.
His performance dipped in 2021 and 2022, though: his ERA rose to the mid-4.00s both years and his strikeout rate decreased a bit.
It appeared that the suspicions about his stuff were true and his ceiling was not a backend starter as opposed to an ace or even a mid-rotation pitcher.
Enter 2023.
By throwing fewer four-seam fastballs and more cutters than ever before, Dunning has been pitching like an ace for almost two months.
Dane Dunning gets the ball tonight against the Pirates
W-L:
4-0ERA:
1.69 (1st in A.L. 2nd in MLB)WHIP:
0.88 (3rd in MLB)He’s been nothing short of fantastic and is worthy of being an All-Star. pic.twitter.com/XZzORfJH7q
— Texas Rangers Insider (@RangersInsiders) May 22, 2023
Any pitcher who has a 1.69 ERA over 37.1 innings deserves a long look.
The sample is not so big, but it’s significant enough to raise the league’s attention, especially since he introduced tangible changes to his pitch mix.
Dunning definitely deserves credit and, why not, All-Star buzz, at least to this point.
It’s unlikely he finishes with an ERA under 2.00, but the Rangers have a legitimate big league starter in him, and that’s all that matters.
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