Rank History
| Year | Team | Position | Team Rank | OFP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | TEX | RHP | 2 | 50 |
Grades Update: Mar 2021
| OFP | Role | FB | CB | SL | CH | Cont/Cmd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 50 | 55 | 50 | 55 | 50 | 55/50 |
Mar 2021 Report
Evaluator: Tyler Henninger
Age: 26 yr
Height: 6-2
Weight: 225 lbs
Hits/Throws: R/R
Acquired: 2016 Round 1, WAS
RuleV: On 40-Man Roster
Physical Description: Tall, large frame. Prototypical SP build. Long, tapering legs. Fair muscular development. Near full maturity, future strength gains minimal.
Delivery & Mechanics: Semi-windup, tall and fall. High 3/4 arm slot with average arm speed and moderate effort in the delivery. Solid deception due to high leg kick and ability to keep ball hidden behind body. Issue with arm timing. Arm lags behind at foot strike. Above-average extension. Delivery repeated fairly well besides arm timing issue.
Fastball: Sits 91-94 mph. Shows ability to run it up to 96 mph. Mixes 2-seam and 4-seam. Solid sinking, arm-side run on 2-seam. Riding life when he climbs the ladder with 4-seam. Ability to get whiffs with both. Commands well to both sides of the plate. Above-average pitch, especially when velocity is up. Grade: 55
Curveball: Sits 78-82 mph. Downer rotation, lots of break. Bite through the zone when on top. Break lacks consistency. Around the zone frequently, but command and feel waver at times. Pitch will back up on him at times. Potential out pitch. Needs to get more comfortable throwing. Has chance to be an above-average offering with improved consistency, currently an average pitch. Grade: 50
Slider: Sits 80-84 mph. Tight rotation with depth and downward bite. Good feel for pitch, comfortable throwing often. Will miss glove side occasionally, rarely misses over the plate. Out pitch with swing and miss ability. Grade: 55
Changeup: Sits 83-87 mph. Features impressive arm-side run at its best. Creates deception with arm speed. Has ability to get chase swings, needs to be in the zone more often. Shows feel for the pitch, needs to throw more often. Potential swing and miss pitch versus LHH. Grade: 50
Control and Command: In the zone frequently with feel for all pitches. Shows flashes of advanced pitchability, sequences and mixes pitches well. Ability to throw fastball to all four quadrants, attacks hitters with it. Nibbles with offspeed at times, gets plenty of chases but could be more aggressive. Command profile suited well for starting role. Control: 55 | Command: 50
Overall: Dunning has five pitches that are at least average or better. He shows good pitchability, mixing and sequencing all of them well. He has above-average control and shows the ability to hit majority of his intended spots. His 2-seam fastball has good arm-side tail with the ability to locate it. The 4-seamer has going riding life with the ability to elevate and get whiffs. The slider is his best offspeed pitch. It has good downward bite and he commands it fairly well. The pitch has the ability to get swing and misses not only in the zone but also get chase swings. Dunning's curveball has good vertical break, albeit the movement is slightly inconsistent. The pitch will back up on him at times, but shows potential to be an above average pitch if he can be more consistent with it. His changeup shows good horizontal movement with some arm speed deception. He shows good feel for the pitch and it could be a weapon versus LHH. He needs to throw the pitch more often to become more comfortable, but it is at least an average offering. The variety of quality pitches and the ability to mix them will allow Dunning to fill a backend SP role in a big league rotation.
OFP: 50
Role: 50 - #4 - #5 Backend SP
Risk: Moderate
