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    Blake Dunn (Photo: Doug Gray)
    Photo: Doug Gray

    Blake Dunn named Midwest League Player of the Week

    Doug Gray 7

    Blake Dunn was named the Midwest League Player of the Week for his performance against the Lake County Captains last week. It marks the second time this season that a Cincinnati Reds prospect has been the recipient of this award for their league, with Dunn joining left-handed pitcher Andrew Abbott, who won the Southern League Pitcher of the Week award two weeks ago.

    The Dayton Dragons hosted Lake County this past week and Blake Dunn played in each game of the series. In five of the six games he reached base at least twice. The other game? He didn’t start that came and only had one at-bat. The outfielder had two hits in four games and three hits in another. He also walked in four games, and was hit by a pitch in three games. 27 plate appearances, 11 hits, four walks, three times he was hit by a pitch. He also homered in the final three games of the series. All of that led up to a .550/.667/1.050, good for an OPS of 1.717.

    While Dunn was having a good season up to that point, he’s separated himself from much of the league, and even players within the Reds organization. He’s second in the Midwest League with a .386 batting average. He’s leading the league with a .538 on-base percentage. His .702 slugging percentage is second in the league, as are his five home runs. Dunn’s OPS of 1.240 leads the league by 113 points. His 11 stolen bases are tied for second in the league. So are his 18 runs batted in. If there were a player of the month award handed out for the Midwest League it would be tough to argue for anyone besides Blake Dunn.

    Last season the Reds had 14 players earn player of the week honors, but only one did so for what they accomplished during April. That puts them a little bit ahead of last year’s pace.

    Doug Gray
    Doug Gray is the owner and operator of this website and has been running it since 2006 in one variation or another.

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    7 Responses

    2. Doug, MK, Stock or anyone else, if you get a chance, what type of tools would you say Dunn has as far as running, arm, defense and hit tool on the 80 scouting scale?

      He definitely is an intriguing prospect and can’t wait till I get to see him down here in Chattanooga.

      1. When he was drafted he was said to have 4 above-average to plus tools, with his hit tool being the one that wasn’t.

        1. To expand on that, I haven’t seen enough of his arm for me to grade it comfortably on my own. I think the hit tool plays. I think he’s probably got average HR power. Above-average to plus speed, good defense. Good eye at the plate. He’s got big league caliber tools.

    3. Awesome, thanks Doug, so possibly around:

      speed: 65
      arm: 50
      power: 50
      defense: 50
      hit tool: 55
      a fair guess at this point?

      1. From the BA draft scouting report:

        “A plus-plus runner with huge arm strength and raw power, it’s easy to fall in love with the many ways that Dunn can impact the game. A multi-sport athlete coming out of high school, Dunn has electric athleticism, and that combined with his running ability makes him a no-doubt center fielder at the next level where he can track down baseballs deep in the gaps and also throw runners out with his potential 70-grade arm.”

        As Doug noted above, scouts were concerned about the hit tool, but even if he hit .240 or so, he’d be an asset because of his speed, defense and power potential.

        As far as the eye test, Dunn doesn’t resemble some of the long legged, uber physiques you’ll see, i.e., Chad Benson, Acquino, or Drew Stubbs. He’s more of a strong safety bruiser, IMO.

        1. I LOVE defense and speed but for this organization the scouts need to draft players that can RAKE! When it comes time to deal woth teams don’t look for defense they look at HIT Tool.

    4. Midwest player of the week would be a good way to put a cherry on top of his Dayton career. Hopefully he’s announced to Chattanooga today and is playing in Tennessee tonight.

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